After battling back pain and countless rumours about a serious illness, actor returns as a guest on a TV show; has given his nod to a film which rolls in July-August
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 16, 2019)

For a while now, Mithun Chakraborty has been away from the public eye and there have been rumours that he is battling a life-threatening illness. In April, the actor’s youngest son, Namashi, had informed that the only thing ailing his father is back pain. “Whenever dad travels to Los Angeles, people assume that he is sick. He is currently in Kerala undergoing therapy for his back and will be in Mumbai closer to the release date of The Tashkent Files. Ninety per cent of the pain is gone. He’s waiting to return to work,” Namashi had told Mirror (April 8).

Earlier this week, the actor turned up as a guest on the dance reality show, Super Dancer Chapter 3. Now, we have learnt that the original Disco Dancer has given his nod to a horror-comedy titled Bhootiyapa. To be directed by Manoj Sharma, the film stars Madhoo and also features comedians Krushna Abhishek, Sugandha Mishra and Rajiv Thakur and will go on the floors in July-August.

Dismissing reports of a health scare, Manoj said, “Dada is absolutely fit and all these rumours are false. I met him for a couple of meetings at his Madh bungalow earlier this month. He agreed to be a part of my film soon after listening to the narration. Eighty percent of the film will be shot in Lucknow, while the rest will be filmed in Mumbai.”

In the film Mithun plays royalty who invites three stand-up comedians to his mansion for a private performance. “What follows is the story,” Manoj added. “He has worked with them earlier and he’s coming up with lots of interesting suggestions.”

The actor confirmed the news saying, “I loved the script in the first narration itself and accepted the offer on the same day. Yes, I am doing the film Bhootiyapa.”

However, he will not be dancing in the film as the narrative doesn’t demand it. “But I will try to create a promotional track where we can get Dada to shake a leg,” laughs Manoj.

Meanwhile, Super Dancer Chapter 3 judge Geeta Kapur who’s had a long-standing equation with the actor since their Dance India Dance (DID) days, said he looked “hale and hearty” during his turn on the show which also features Anurag Basu and Shilpa Shetty as her co-judges. “Dada has been wearing a waist band since the time we used to shoot for DID because of his back problem. But other than that he is not grappling with any serious medical issue. If he was, I don’t see any reason for hiding it. He even danced on the show with us and was so full of energy. It was so much fun,” exulted Geeta.

She added that Mithun doesn’t take phone calls, nor is he active on WhatsApp or the social media. “The only person who I am in touch with is his wife (Yogeeta Bali) so to have him on the set was a happy day and he left it singing a song that made me really emotional. I cried for a long time, I don’t know why. Perhaps because I also don’t know when I am going to see him next.”

According to a source from the set, Mithun exited teary-eyed, crooning a few lines from a Bappi Lahiri-Asha Bhosle duet from his 1989 romantic drama Prem Pratigyaa, “Yeh Pyar Kabhi Kam Nahi Karna, Koi Sitam Kar Lena, Mar Jayenge Aashiq Warna…”