Mithun Chakraborty birthday special: His top films (see pics)

Mithun Chakraborty was a 24 year old tall, dark and handsome lad with striking features when he became a household name with Disco Dancer.Born as Gouranga Chakraborty, the man grew up to be a staunch naxalite before turning towards a better life for himself and his family after his only brother was electrocuted and killed in a freak accident.Gouranga found solace in education and went on to complete his graduation from University of Calcutta (now. Kolkata). Gouranga (Mithun) then headed to FTII in Pune to study theater and arts and adapted his screen name Mithun.The world changing moment in his life came when he made his debut in Indian cinema with Mrinal Sen's 'Mrigaya' in 1976, a movie which one him his first National Award for best actor.He went on to give some stupendous performances like in, Mera Rakshak (1978), Surakshaa (1979), Tarana (1979). Until 1982, Mithun had cemented his foothold in Indian film industry, but Disco Dancer (1982) made him an overnight superstar.Disco Dancer went on to become a block-buster hit, even garnered worldwide audiences, especially from former Soviet Union, where he became a household name.Mithun was seen as the next big thing after Amitabh Bachchan, and soon after Big B ventured into politics, Mithun become the second highest paid actors in the Bollywood industry.Like his on-screen persona even his personal life was a much talked about gossip in the nation. During his early days in the film industry, Mithun had a brief affair with a model Helena Luke, the couple soon tied the knot. The marriage didn't last long and soon they divorced and Helena shifted her base to US.Mithun was also linked to his co-star Sridevi, it is said he and Sridevi even secretly tied the knot while he was still married to Yogita Bali.The actor had to himself confirm the news when a fan magazine published his marriage certificate showing him married to Sridevi. Learning upon their secret wedding liaison, Yogita took an overdose of sedatives after, which Mithun had to nullify his marriage with Sridevi and return back to his wife Yogita.Take a look at some of his memorable films... MrigayaThis was Mithun's debut movie; Mrigayaa was directed by Mrinal Sen and was released in 1976. The movie was about the exploitation of Indian native villagers in the hand of Indian landlords and the former's relation with British colonialists in the backdrop of the awakening against British rule.The movie won Mithun his first National Award. Disco DancerDirected by Babbar Subhash and released in 1982, the movie launched Mithun as the next big superstar after Amitabh Bachchan. The movie revolved around a guy names Anil (Mithun Chakraborty) who undergoes a self actualization journey to transform himself to be the next singing sensation replacing the current nation's favourite.Tahader KathaThe Bengali movie directed by Buddhadev Dasgupta and released in 1992, made Mithun won another National award. Mithun played the role of Shibnath (freedom fighter during Indian independence movement) who faces the stark reality after India-Pakistan partition and the journey cocooning himself back again toe reminisces of memories before partition. Ghar Ek MandirMithun also starred in many family dramas with big star cast, Ghar Ek Mandir was one of them, directed by K.Bapaiah. The movie also starred Shashi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Ranjeeta, Moushumi Chatterjee, Shakti Kapoor, Kader Khan and Raj Kiran. Mithun's performance of an obedient son won him hearts all over the nation. KaalpurushThe movie directed by Buddhadev Dasgupta had Mithun Chakraborty and Rahul Bose playing the leads. The movie is about the comparisons of two times, one of Rahul's childhood and other is the present scenario, where Rahul has failed as a husband. The movie goes along with a sensitive relationship of a father (Mithun) and son (Rahul). Swami VivekanandaDirected by G. V. Iyer in 1998, the movie had Mithun playing the role of Swami Paramahansa, spiritual guru of Swami Vivekananda. The plot was based capturing the crucial conversation and ideologies exchanged between the spiritual leaders. Though the movie garnered mainly negative reviews but Mithun's role was widely appreciated and he won his third National Award. AgneepathDirected by Mukul S. Anand and produced by Yash Johar in 1990, Agneepath was a ground-breaking platform for both Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun Chakraborty. Mithun played the role of a friend and supporter of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan (Amitabh Bachchan), who was on a vengeance journey against antagonist Kaancha Cheena (Danny Denzonpga). Guru Directed by Mani Ratnam and released in 2007, the film had Abhishek Bachchan in his lead and proved to be milestone of his Bollywood career. Mithun played the role of an Editor and chairman of newspaper 'Swatantra' who helped Guru (Abhishek Bachchan) in his early days of struggle as a businessman.Mithun's portrayal that of a honest news publisher and his stance to expose Guru, when he learns that the latter used corrupt ways to gain success won him critical acclaim.