A‘nervous’ Mithun Chakraborty returns to the arclights with a comedy show on TV and a handful of films after a forced two-year hiatus following chronic health issues
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 12, 2017)

In an interview to Mirror earlier (December 21, 2015) Mithun Chakraborty’s son Mahaakshay, following rampant speculations surrounding his father’s health, had revealed that the veteran actor was laid low following a bout of sickness.

In 2008, Mithun was shooting for Soham Shah’s action-packed thriller Luck when a daring stunt-gone-awry left him with a back injury. While the spasms eased up after a while, the back ache returned in 2015. The same year, a bout of fever forced him into a brief hibernation and last year, he flew out to Los Angeles for treatment.

The 67-year-old actor ended the two-year hiatus last Wednesday when he arrived on the sets of Krushna Abhishek’s upcoming comedy show, The Drama Company, in which he plays the role of Shambu, the owner of the company. Interestingly, it has reportedly been conceptualised as a potential rival to Kapil Sharma’s comedy show which airs on the same channel, Sony.

“I’m completely cured but the doctors have warned that my health now will depend on the lifestyle choices I make hereon. I was bedridden for a long time but I have recovered and hopefully have learnt a lesson from the past,” Mithun admitted.

Besides this show, he has signed a handful of films and has begun shooting for them. “I am doing Geher with Ram Gopal Varma and Anil Sharma’s Genius. There’s also Anup Jalota’s Saahas and a Kannada film, The Villain, which features Sudeep and Shiv Rajkumar. They wanted me desperately so I took them up on the offer. Except Anup’s film, all the others are on the floors. I don’t think I can handle more work at this time,” he added.

While he has judged a dance-based reality show in the past, the actor believes a comedy series will be a challenge for him. “All the actors on this show are established names and have proved themselves in the field of comedy while I have been doing only dance shows so it’s more difficult for me. I have shot for two episodes and their talent has left me speechless. Their timing is fantastic, I’m the one who’s nervous,” confides the actor, adding that his character claims to know American President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and promises to take the others on a trip around the world for five dollars. “I doubt it will ever happen though,” he signs off with a laugh.