Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty has been awarded the country's third highest award, Padma Bhushan, by the Government of India for his outstanding contribution to films.
He marked his debut with Mrinal Sen’s Mrigayaa in 1976, which won him the Best Actor award at the National Film Awards.
Now, during an interview session with News18 Showsha, his youngest son Namashi Chakraborty has expressed his joy at his father's long-due win. He said, “Dad is shooting in a remote area near Bangalore right now. So, none of us are with him. We were not even aware that he had gotten the award because we had not spoken to dad. He wasn’t informed about being felicitated with the honour before. When we got the news at about eleven o’clock last night, we somehow managed to reach him. All of us are extremely proud and happy. It’s just an overwhelming feeling.”
Namashi has often spoken about how his father has been his greatest source of inspiration and he believes that his Padma Bhushan win will motivate him to put his best foot forward too. “When we got the news last night, we got very emotional. What my father has achieved is almost close to impossible. The way he has succeeded in life, the struggle he has seen is unimaginable and to achieve that level of success feels like something that’s beyond me. For every child, their biggest inspiration is their parents. I’ve been completely in awe of my father ever since I was a kid. It’s his extremely principled life more than his success as a film star that continues to inspire me,” he says.
So, does he think that the award came to his father a little too late in his career? “I think India has finally given its OG hero his due. My father in his entire life has never asked for an award. He always won them because of his own merit. That’s what makes us prouder. So, it doesn’t matter when the award came to him,” states Namashi, who made his acting debut with Bad Boy last year.
Mithun has been a part of chartbuster tracks like 'I Am A Disco Dancer,' 'Yaad Aa Raha Hai,' and 'Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja.' Apart from carving a niche for himself in commercial films, he has also gained acclaim for his nuanced performances in films like 'Kasturi,' 'Agneepath,' 'Tahader Katha,' 'Titli,' 'Guru and Projapoti,' among others.
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