Mithun Chakraborty

Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three National Film Awards for best actor. In January 2024, Chakraborty was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour, by the Government of India.

Chakraborty made his acting debut with the art house drama Mrigayaa (1976), for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor. Chakraborty played Jimmy in the 1982 film Disco Dancer, which was a major box office success in India and the Soviet Union. Besides Disco Dancer, Chakraborty is also remembered for his performance in films such as Surakksha, Hum Paanch, Sahhas, Wardat, Shaukeen, Wanted, Boxer, Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki, Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Ghulami, Dilwaala, Swarag Se Sunder, Nasihat, Avinash, Dance Dance, Watan Ke Rakhwale, Pyar Ka Mandir, Waqt Ki Awaz, Prem Pratigyaa, Daata, Mujrim, Agneepath, Ravan Raaj and Jallaad.

After a period of decline in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he switched to character roles in several successful and acclaimed films such as Guru, Golmaal 3, Housefull 2, OMG – Oh My God!, Khiladi 786, Kick, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files.

In 1991, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Krishnan Iyer Nariyal Paniwala in the film Agneepath. He later won two more National Film Awards for his performances in Tahader Katha (1992) and Swami Vivekananda (1998). Chakraborty has appeared in more than 350 films, including Bengali, Hindi, Odia, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Punjabi pictures. He is the record holder in the Limca Book of Records for 19 movie releases as lead actor in the year 1989 and the record is still unbroken in Bollywood as of July 2022.

Chakraborty owns the Monarch Group, which has interests in the hospitality and educational sectors. He has also started the production house Paparatzy Productions. In 1992, he, along with Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt, set up a trust to help needy actors called Cine & T.V Artistes Association (CINTAA). He was also the Chairperson of Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union, which takes care of the welfare of cine workers and resolves their demands and problems. The television show Dance India Dance where Chakraborty is the Grand Master has already been entered in the Limca Book of Records and the Guinness World Records. Chakraborty played a crucial role of mediator between Pranab Mukherjee of the Indian National Congress and Mamata Banerjee, winning the Mukherjee the support of Banerjee's party, the All India Trinamool Congress, in the 2012 Indian presidential election. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 7 March 2021, ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.