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The 70th National Award ceremony took place in Delhi on 8th October. While Kantara, Brahmastra and many other film bagged top honours, several veteran actors were felicitated for their contribution to cinema. At the ceremony, Mithun Chakraborty received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest film honour. During his acceptance speech, Mithun Chakraborty got emotional and recalled the days he was criticized for being dark-skinned.
Mithun Chakraborty on being rejected for being dark skinned
Overwhelmed by the warm reception, Mithun found it difficult to speak initially. “If it were film dialogues, I could have easily delivered them by reading out. But right now, I have no paper to help me with this speech,” he said. The actor also mentioned how he was trolled and disrespected as a dark-skinned man in the industry. “I was told ‘film industry me kaala rang nahi chalega’. Jitna apmaan ho sakta tha, hua [I was told there’s no place for dark-skinned actors like me in the film industry. They humiliated me as much as they could],” he said.
Mithun further added, “Back then, people said that dark-skinned actors wouldn’t survive in the film industry and advised me to go back home. I prayed to God, asking if he could change my skin colour, but he couldn’t. Then I thought about what I could do and realised I could dance. I decided to become such a great dancer that once people saw my legs move, they wouldn’t notice my skin colour. That’s how I became the ‘sexy, dusky Bengali babu,’” he shared, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
Mithun on low phase
Recalling the struggling phase, he stated, “I received nothing on a platter; everything I earned was through hard work. Hence, I often complained to God, asking why, despite all these struggles, I was receiving more pain. Eventually, I accepted that this was how it was going to be. But I was wrong. After receiving this award today, I will never raise complaints to God again.”
