When Mithun Chakraborty was known as ‘poor man’s Amitabh Bachchan’, called it the ‘greatest compliment ever’

Mithun Chakraborty recalled the time when he was called 'poor man's Amitabh Bachchan'.

New Delhi | July 20, 2023 01:55 PM IST

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amitabh bachchan and mithun chakraborty friendship

Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun Chakraborty worked together in Agneepath.

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Mithun Chakraborty was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and in those days, the industry was ruled by the stardom of Amitabh Bachchan. In fact, at one point, Mithun was called ‘poor man’s Amitabh Bachchan’ and when asked about this in an interview, the Disco Dancer actor said that he found it to be the “greatest compliment” he could ever get.

In a chat with ETC, Mithun said that Amitabh Bachchan is the “century’s biggest star” and recalled the time when people compared him to Amitabh Bachchan. He shared, “At that time, Bachchan saab used to do big banner films. And I had no banner. But my films would do business of almost that target. People would say he is also Amitabh Bachchan, but poor man’s.”

Mithun explained that with regard to business, since Amitabh would work in big budget films and Mithun worked in smaller budget films, the recovery that both these kinds of films would do at the box office was almost the same. “At one point, they used to say that they are the two pillars of the industry. I think it was the greatest compliment I could ever get,” he said.

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When Mithun was still a newbie, Amitabh once offered him a lift when he saw the actor travelling in the production tempo. Mithun’s son Namashi previously shared with ETimes that during the shoot of Tarana in Shimla, Amitabh saw Mithun travelling with the crew and graciously pulled up his car and asked him to ride with him. Namashi said that the two have been friends for over 45 years.

Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun Chakraborty famously worked together in Mukul Anand’s Agneepath.

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