So today on the Nikki Bedi show Chet in Leicester was inquiring about Mimoh (born Mahakshay) Chakraborty son of Yogeeta Bali and the legendary Mithun Chakraborty. What I do know is that papa C has got his second innings as a reality TV judge on the TV show Dance India Dance (last I checked he was cringing at the sexual nature of one of the performances.) Meanwhile junior C. aka Mimoh (whose debut “Jimmy” which released on May 9, 2008 flopped miserably is getting no free ride from his disco daddy. Mithun, describes it as a “battle that he must learn to wage himself!” (Oh God he’s one of those dad’s.)
And just to add a little good old-fashioned desi style parental embarrassment* to Mimoh’s mortification Farah Khan fondly recalls the days when she used to go to Mithun Da’s house to teach “little Mimoh” how to dance.
Last I heard the failure of his dream launch sent Mimoh spiraling into depression. I hear Mithunda kind of knew what was coming when he saw the rushes and was shocked by the tackiness of the product which the producers had promised to shoot in foreign locations, especially Dubai. All Mithun saw were indoor shots done shabbily so a panicky Papa stepped in to perform Operation Rescue. Two extra songs were shot. No expenses were spared to make them look lavish. But it was too late. The film had no plot.
Mithunda refuses to say anything about Mimoh’s failed debut, beyond… “I always maintained my son is a better dancer than me. Everyone agrees. I’m happy with that. Beyond that, Mimoh has his own destiny. He’s named after Michael Jackson and Mohammad Ali. Like the two, he’ll have to fight his way through life. I can only be there to support him. He’ll have to fight the battle on his own.”
*Most of us brown people have (at one time or another in our traumatic childhoods) been subjected to that oh-so-embarrasing “beta (child) why don’t you dance/sing/play the piano/do a magic trick for uncle & aunty?” by our well-meaning parents. Although I’m guessing considering his daddy was the original disco dancer Mimoh may have had other things to be embarassed about! (That and the fact that he’s named after Michael Jackson and Mohammad Ali.)