Mithun Chakraborty

Mrinal Sen's art-house drama Mrigayaa (1976) brought Mithun Chakraborty into cinema, and that first performance won him the National Film Award for Best Actor. Born Gouranga Chakraborty in Kolkata on 16 June 1950, he has worked in around 350 films across more than five decades, chiefly in Hindi and Bengali, with a smaller number in Bhojpuri, Odia, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Punjabi. He is also a producer, entrepreneur and politician. The Bengali film Nadi Theke Sagare (1978) was his major breakthrough. Disco Dancer (1982) took him much further, succeeding at the box office in India and in the Soviet Union. Agneepath won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, and Swami Vivekananda later brought the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor; he holds three National Film Awards in all. The Banga Bibhushan came in 2013, the Padma Bhushan in 2024, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2022. Away from the camera he heads the Monarch Group, founded Paparatzy Productions and has served as a Rajya Sabha member. He appeared in the 2026 Tamil film Jailer 2, a role Rajinikanth has said Chakraborty first turned down before agreeing on one condition. Prabhas's Telugu film Fauzi, slated for 2027, also has him in the cast.