Mithun Chakraborty, Indian actor and politician
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 two Filmfare Awards and three National Film Awards.
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 commercially successful in India and the Soviet Union. Besides Disco Dancer, Chakraborty is also remembered for his performance in films such as Surakksha, Sahhas, Wardat, Wanted, Boxer, Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Pyari Behna, Avinash, Dance Dance, Prem Pratigyaa, Mujrim, Agneepath, Yugandhar, The Don, and Jallaad. 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 November 2021.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 Grandmaster 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 and Mamata Banerjee, winning the Congressman the support of the Trinamool chief in the 2012 presidential election.