Shabana Azmi reveals Mithun Chakraborty was insecure about his complexion

Mumbai, July 2 – Veteran actress Shabana Azmi, who recently celebrated 50 years in cinema, revealed that actor Mithun Chakraborty was very insecure about his complexion during his early days in the industry.

The actress recalled how he would come to her house, and her mom would instil confidence in Mithun.

Shabana appeared on the episode of the streaming chat show ‘The Invincibles with Arbaaz Khan’ by Bollywood Bubble and shared anecdotes about Mithun Chakraborty visiting her home and expressing concerns about his skin tone and teeth.

The actress told the show host, Arbaaz Khan: “Mithun Chakraborty, who was my junior back then would come to our house and tell us that he doesn’t have a fair complexion or his teeth were different. Mom used to hug and tell him that ‘you shouldn’t worry about all these things. You are such a great dancer’. We all used to get confidence from this kind of affirmation coming from her.”

Reflecting on her iconic film ‘Arth’, Shabana expressed how none of the artists involved in the project anticipated its eventual cult status over the years.

The actress, who won the National Award for her role in the film, said that the film triggered a societal change.

During the episode, she also candidly discussed her husband, the legendary screenwriter Javed Akhtar, and his struggle with alcoholism.

She recounted a pivotal moment, saying that one day when they were in Paris, Javed was reeking of alcohol, and that was the moment he decided to give up drinking. She lauded her husband’s willpower and said she couldn’t understand how he gave up drinking just like that with no withdrawal.