Mithun Chakraborty remembers days of struggle when he lived on footpath, had nothing to eat: ‘My story won’t inspire people, it will break them’

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty has revealed that he was ridiculed for his skin colour “for a lot of years”, a heartbreaking experience which he hopes no one goes through. The actor, who was at the peak of his stardom during the 80s, said his days of struggle involved crying to sleep, not knowing where his next meal would come from.
Chakraborty recalled his tough times on the singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs. He will be seen on the show during the ‘Celebrating Disco Kings’ special episode alongside veteran actor Padmini Kolhapure.
Mithun Chakraborty shot to fame in the 80s, where he starred in consecutive hits. (Photo: Express Archives)
“I never want anybody to go through what I have gone through in life. Everyone has seen struggles and fought through difficult days, but I was always called out for my skin colour. I have been disrespected for a lot of years because of my skin colour…,” the actor said.
According to Chakraborty, his struggle was so intense he had to even sleep on footpaths for several days. “I have seen days when I had to sleep with an empty stomach, and I used to cry myself to sleep. In fact, there were days when I had to think about what my next meal will be, and where I will go to sleep. I have also slept on the footpath for a lot of days,” he added.

Because Chakraborty rose to stardom after surpassing mentally and physically draining challenges, the veteran is against the idea of a biopic on him as it might break people down. “And that’s the only reason I don’t want my biopic to be ever made! My story will never inspire anyone, it will break them down (mentally) and discourage people from achieving their dreams. I don’t want that to happen! If I can do it, anyone else can do it. I have fought a lot to prove myself in this industry. I am not legendary because I have given hit movies, I am a legend because I have surpassed all the pains and struggles of my life,” he added.

Chakraborty started his acting journey with filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s National Award winning 1976 drama Mrigayaa, but it was the 1979 spy thriller Surakshaa that laid the grounds for his stardom in the 80s with blockbusters like Disco Dancer, Dance Dance, Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki and Commando among others.
The actor was last seen on the big screen in The Kashmir Files, which released in March earlier this year. He is currently filming Baap, also starring Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff. The film is an action drama and brings the 90s superstars together for the first time.