When Mithun Chakraborty’s ‘Ooty type’ acting made Hansal Mehta ask him to tone it down: ‘We’re making a realistic film here’

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He narrated, “In the first scene, dada delivered his line, and then he did a flamboyant gesture with his glasses. Hansal said cut. I was sitting next to him, so I overheard the exchange. Hansal told Mithun da, ‘Hum Ooty type ki film nahi kar rahe, hum real zone mein jaa rahe hain (We aren’t doing one of your Ooty films, we’re making a realistic film here).’ Dada just gave him a look, and nodded quietly. And after that, that man was a different actor. We were stunned by his ability to nail first takes. He became the National Award-winning Mithun da that we know.”

Aamir said that he learned a lot from Mithun, and that they got along splendidly. “One day, we were walking, and he told me, ‘Aamir, the best way to act, is to not act’.” Raakh was among Hansal’s earlier films, and the director had a difficult phase personally before revamping his career with the film Shahid. Aamir and Hansal recently collaborated on the film Faraaz; Aamir was also featured in the Disney+ Hotstar show Lootere, directed by Hansal’s son, Jai Mehta.