It’s the time to disco

Actor Mithun Chakraborty, 62, is back on the small screen with Dance India Dance Season 2.

Mithun Chakraborty

Actor Mithun Chakraborty, 62, is back on the small screen with

Dance India Dance

Season 2. We caught up with him for a chat:

It’s been a year since the first season of Dance India Dance. Where is Salman, the winner of the last season, today?
Salman is in safe hands. He has completed a dance and acting course from a reputed academy and is preparing to get into films now. He is doing well for himself.

What’s happening with the 17 contestants from the last season who didn’t win?
They all have become professional dancers. Some of them have branched out into opening their own academies. They’re training others now. These kids have become the front row dancers at stage shows.

Several dancers tried their luck at the auditions the last time and didn’t make it. Did any of them try again for this season?
Yes, I was at the auditions... I saw a lot of faces that I’d seen last year. A few of them made it to the final list of the contestants this time. I think they took our suggestions seriously and worked hard on their art through the year.

Would your role on the show go beyond that of the Grand Master?
I’m hoping it would. There are plans and, now that the show has commenced, you’d know about them soon.

It’s been 350 films in over 30 years for you. Is there a dancer whose shoes you’d want to get into?
Ah! I would love to get into Fred Astaire’s shoes. He was a marvellous dancer. I can’t dance like him but I wish I could. And yes, I felt a sense of loss when Michael Jackson died.

Do you see a vast difference in the dancing styles of yore and today?
Yes there is. Choreographers are using the dance styles I adopted back then. I’m fine with the moves today because I did them years ago. The newbies will take a while to learn those moves, though.

After Mimoh, your son Rimoh has acted in one of your films. Is he serious about acting?
More than serious. He acted in one of my recent movies and is now directing a film.

What about Mimoh?
He’s drifting into films. He’ll find his way through it, like his father did. I was an accidental discovery. He isn’t.

Between the two of you, who would you say is a better dancer?
I think Mimoh is a better dancer. He can dance in different ways and much better than I can.