By: Entertainment Desk New Delhi | July 30, 2025 15:20 IST 3 min readMithun Chakraborty in the film Chandaal (1998).Actor Mithun Chakraborty will go down in history as one of the most well-known and prolific performers of his generation. For a good part of his career, Mithun focused on making financially viable films and had no intention of becoming a huge star. Vishek Chauhan, the owner of Roopbani cinema hall, one of the oldest in Bihar, reflected on Mithun’s popularity in Bihar and how the parallel industry located in Ooty proved quite successful for the actor.While appearing on the Digital Commentary podcast, Vishek talked about how Mithun carried the single-screen industry in Bihar single-handedly. He said, “Mithun is a legend no matter what anyone says about him or his work. There was a time when he was giving us two films every month. He did a lot of films during the days when he had the parallel industry in Ooty, and Raj Babbar was the prime producer. Every Mithun film used to open with 100% occupancy, and we knew that we were going to have a good week ahead.”ALSO READ: Mimoh Chakraborty opens up about dealing with Jimmy’s failure; recalls parents Mithun Chakraborty and Yogeeta Bali’s reaction: ‘I didn’t step out of the house for a year’He admitted that all the movies that came from Mithun’s Ooty phase became iconic in their own right and how there were more Mithun movies than screens to play them on. “The action sequences became iconic, and films like Cheetah, Ravan Raj, Sanyasi Mera Naam, Zahreela, Mard, and Hitler were all superhits. I remember that one day we were screening Mard, and the next film was a Mithun film, and the posters for the two upcoming films were also Mithun films. During those days, before the Bhojpuri industry boom, Mithun was the support system for all single-screen theatres in Bihar. He was single-handedly taking care of these theatres while Bollywood was now moving to a more elitist phase.”Vishek also commented on the business model that Mithun and his producers had implemented and how quality assurance wasn’t exactly on the top of their priority list. He said that everyone knew what the goal was, and they all did their part in the circus, while Mithun was the ringmaster. “The films were made at a low cost and weren’t very high quality. They were made for the single screen with a limited budget, and their business concept was very clear. He used to charge Rs 1 lakh a day, and the condition was that the film had to be shot in Ooty. The entire crew used to stay in the Monarch Hotel, which was owned by him, and as long as he was paid his fees, he was ready to shoot whatever the film required.”He recalled how during a shoot, the choreographer was not okaying a shot as Mithun’s hand was going in the wrong direction. After a few takes, an exasperated Mithun said, “Agar haath udhar jayega to film hit ho jayegi kya (If my hand goes in the other direction, will my film become a hit)?” Vishek said that at that point of time, Mithun was more succesful than Amitabh Bachchan.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:bollywoodMithun Chakraborty