Mithun Chakraborty remembers Uttam Kumar on his death anniversary: I learnt a lot of details from dada during my work with him

Mithun Chakraborty has worked in Uttam Kumar’s directorial, Kalankini Kankabati. Along with the actor, the film also features Sharmila Tagore, Supriya Devi, Soma Chowdhury and Uttam Kumar. On Mahanayak’s death anniversary, Mithun remembers him as a kind and friendly person. He has also expressed his regrets that he could only work with him on one film and not more.

It has been 42 years since Uttam Kumar passed away and yet his charm remains intact among Bengali cine lovers. In 1981, Uttam Kumar directed the crime thriller Kalankini Kankabati. During that time, it was made out of a huge budget of Rs 85 lakhs. The film also features Santu Mukhopadhyay, Lily Chakraborty and others.

In an interview with Anandabazar, Mithun recalls the shooting days. “On one hand, it was Uttam Kumar directing us, on the other hand, it was Benudi’s (Supriya Devi) cooking. It was amazing. I had no dietary restrictions. I used to dance in the morning. And I used to gorge on lovely food during lunchtime. If it was Benudi’s cooking, I would eat more. She would herself serve us food. The lunch hour was full of adda. I never missed home when I was with Dada (Uttam Kumar) and Benudi on the set,” he said. Mithun also admitted that Uttam Kumar used to be furious if he saw wrongdoings.

Mithun said that he learnt a lot of details about acting from Uttam Kumar. He also praised the producer Uttam Kumar. He said, “dada would understand my feeling just by looking at me. I used to go out to smoke. One day he said that once sons grow up they become father’s friend. Do smoke in front of me,” he said.

Kalankini Kankabati’s music is still popular among film lovers. The film was based on Nihar Ranjan Gupta’s novel.