Mithun: I have tortured my son

Mithun Chakraborty has moved on to character roles, but his fan following is as strong as ever. At the inauguration of the Gold Telly awards in Mumbai, the actor was clearly the biggest crowd puller. With his son’s debut round the corner, Mithun insists he is only growing younger with each passing day. And he can still pack in a punch to enthrall his fans.

This year Bruce Willis and Stallone revisited Die Hard and Rocky respectively. So can we see the Disco Dancer making a comeback?

(Laughs) No No… I don’t think my body is flexible enough to perform those types of moves at this age. But trust me, the same genre of films (action, romance, dance all rolled into one) will definitely regain popularity. Just wait and watch.

Now the promos of Mimoh’s debut are out. What are your first impressions as a father?

Of course I am a proud father. But I must add Mimoh has hardly received any support from me. Other fathers in the industry lavishly promote their sons for months together, whereas I told him, "If you are good enough, the public will accept you".

I am his harshest critic and for the last six years while he was preparing, I have been a torture.

But will father son come together on screen and will he give competition to you?

It’s too early to talk about all that. As far as competition goes, I have always said he is a better dancer than me. But in acting, forget it… He has a long way to go.

On the stage you said, TV has kept you alive in public memory. So will you look at getting into full time television?

I am already judging a reality show on Zee Bangla, which I am enjoying a lot. So if any interesting offers come up I am game. But no soaps for me, I like reality TV more.