Actor Mithun Chakraborty speaks to India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai after being selected as the latest recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He explained why he stopped being a part of art films after winning the National Award for Mrinal Sen’s film Mrigaya.

Chakraborty is the only actor to win a National Award for his debut film. Long before he became popular for disco dancer and security films, the actor won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his role as Ghinua in Mrinal Sen-directed Mrigaya.

Recalling those days, he said, ‘I got my first National Award after Mrigaya. whatever happens, I started acting like Al Pacino. It felt like I was the greatest actor. When my attitude changed the producer saw and said ‘Go.’ (As it happens, I started acting like Al Pacino. I felt like I was the greatest actor. My attitude changed, so the producer saw this and said, ‘Get out.’) Then I realized my mistake. Realised.”

He further said, ‘I decided I will not do main art films until I become the main star., That’s why So many years from Mrigaya to Tahader Katha there is a gap of (I decided not to do art films until I became a star. That’s why there’s such a long gap between the two) Mrigaya And tahader story,

The actor further said that he was already a ‘superstar’ when he did Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Tahader Katha (1992). This film won him another National Award. Mithun Chakraborty won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing the role of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in GV Iyer’s biopic drama Swami Vivekananda (1998).

When asked what he prefers, Mithun the star or Mithun the actor, the actor confidently said, “Both, I am a star actor. I have balanced my superstardom and my parallel cinema.”