Mithun Chakraborty, a legendary actor and recent recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, has opened up about the struggles he faced in his career before he made it big. In a recent interview, Mithun opened up about his early days when female actors would shirk at the idea of starring with him and how Zeenat Aman was the only female actor who supported him during this phase.

Mithun received a National Award for his first film but this was followed by a major lull in his career. “Bohot rukawatein bhi thi (There were many obstacles). I was going ahead in life at a great speed, so obstacles were inevitable,” he said in an interview with NDTV. He claimed that during this period, female actors were instructed not to work with him, but Mithun refused to give up. “I didn’t want to bow down to that lull, I had decided that if I had to lose, then at least I’ll battle it out, that I’ll not just give up.”

One person who played a significant role in breaking this cycle was Zeenat Aman. Mithun shared, “Zeenat Aman helped me a lot. She was working on a film with Brij (Sadanah, the director of 1983 movie Taqdeer) and he had decided ‘Mithun hi mera hero hai‘ (Mithun is my hero). So he went to her and said, ‘See, there is this boy, I think he is very good,’ so Zeenat ji said, ‘he is a very handsome looking boy. He dances well, I will work (with him).’” She broke the cycle by working with me. After her, all the big heroines restarted signing films with me.” Mithun expressed his gratitude, saying, “I am forever grateful to Zeenat ji.”

Mithun’s journey to stardom was not easy. He came from a humble background and had to struggle to make ends meet. He even spent nights sleeping outside plush hotels and public parks. Despite facing numerous rejections, Mithun persevered and went on to become one of Bollywood’s most beloved stars.

Mithun also faced discrimination due to his dark skin tone, with some filmmakers rejecting him for being “too dark”. However, he proved them wrong with his talent and charisma. His breakthrough film, Disco Dancer, cemented his place in Hindi cinema.

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