Mithun Chakraborty on playing Kabuliwala, “My performance is my homage to my Afghani friend” : Bollywood News

Mithun Chakraborty is not easy to interview. All requests have to be routed through his lovely wife Yogeeta Bali ji. She finally gets me the elusive actor on the line in Los Angeles where the couple is holidaying.

Mithun Chakraborty on playing Kabuliwala, “My performance is my homage to my Afghani friend”

The actor, who considers Kolkata his home turf, has just a new version of the Rabindranath Tagore story Kabuliawala for which he is being praised to the skies.

Said Mithun da, “The thirst for doing productive work still drives Mithun to do the occasional film. I just keep doing my work. People tell me I am a legend, and all that. But I don’t take myself seriously. I just want to be a good human being, a good husband to my wife and a good father to my children. And yes, I don’t want to disappoint my fans who want to see me on screen. I will continue doing the work that inspires me, like The Kashmir Files, OMG (Oh My God) and Kabuliwala.”

Mithun da’s moving performance in Kabuliwala is being compared with such stalwarts as Chabi Biswas, Ashok Kumar and Balraj Sahni who have earlier immortalized the part.

Mithun da told this writer, “I have not seen any of the greats that you have mentioned. I didn’t want to get influenced by any other actor: I have never allowed myself to do that. From the time I came into the industry, I was known as an original, not a copy of anybody else.”

So how did Mithun da master the Afghani accent? He answered, “The accent, body language and the entire character is inspired by an Afghani friend I had. His name was Jamaal-ud-Din and he was a Pathan from Afghanistan, just like my character in Kabuliwala and just as kind… He would bring me food — fish, mutton, chicken, biryani, vegetables — and he would make sure that I ate it all in front of him. I have not known such kindness in any human being. Jamaal taught me the value of compassion and kindness. My performance in Kabuliwala is my homage to my friend. I don’t know where he is now. But wherever he is, I hope he will read this, and see my film.”

Mithun da says he likes going back to Bengal. “I try to do at least one film in Bangla every year. It keeps me close to my roots. Apne zameen se har dum juda rehna chahiye. Luckily, I get the same love from the Bangla audience as I do in Hindi,” he said.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Mithun Chakraborty talks about Kabuliwala; reveals why he doesn’t get worked up about reviews anymore: “Earlier, I used to get a fever on Friday and even dysentery! Now it doesn’t make any difference”