I’ve been a fan of Elvis Presley: Mithun Chakraborty

Mithun Chakraborty is back as Grandmaster on Dance India Dance 5. This time around the show has a lot of new talent, starting with judges Mudassar, Gaiti and Punit. Mithun says, “I started out by dancing at weddings to earn money. So whenever I see a new talented youngster, I want to give them a chance. That is why we have three new judges Mudassar, who I fondly call masoor dal, Gaiti Siddiqui and Punit.” The veteran star continues, “The judges of the previous editions of DID are doing so well. This show is the birthplace of talent. I want to give the new judges a chance too.”

Punit has been a contestant and a choreographer in the past. He is well versed with the whole drill of eliminations and, therefore, Mithun feels that Punit understands the format of the show better than him. About Gaiti, he says, “I call her ‘cutie pie’. She has taught stars what their X factor is. Earlier Mudassar would get upset, as everyone would tease him calling him masoor dal like me. Today he tells me I helped him become a star.”

Mithun says he misses the previous DID judges. “I miss them all  Geeta, Terence and Remo. Once you make friends with someone you definitely miss their presence but that’s life, you keep meeting new people.”There are many who are critical of reality shows for the reason that they are a huge source of distraction for children especially, whose studies take a backseat. Mithun doesn’t agree. He says, “It’s the responsibility of parents to make the child balance studies and these activities. Along with studies they need to let their child recognise their X factor. We have never told people to quit studies and participate in dance shows.”

Not too long ago Mithun was battling bad health and had to be hospitalised for four days. The actor reveals that Jay Bhanushali (host of DID) and his wife had come to see him. “I had tears in my eyes. That’s his love for me. I couldn’t be a part of the last season of the show due to my illness. I had a back problem. While shooting for Luck I had fallen off from a helicopter. And the pain recurred. I also have a pancreas problem. I’ve had two shots of painkillers but as I have committed to this show, I will promote DID.”

The disco dancer of Bollywood idolises Elvis Presley. “I’ve been a great fan of Elvis Presley and he was called Pelvis Presley as he danced from the hip. That was carried forward to Michael Jackson. I Indianised that style. People made fun of me but I never planned it that way. Similarly, I never planned my kya baat punch line. It’s all destiny.”