Kolkata: Bollywood actor and former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Mithun Chakraborty made a surprise visit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur on Thursday but failed to meet Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat as the former’s schedule was not communicated in advance to functionaries concerned.
Chakraborty visited Hedgewar Bhawan in Nagpur around 1.30pm on Thursday where he was welcomed by RSS leader Prasad Mahankar.
Sangh functionary Pramod Bagpat told News18, “Mithun da visited our headquarters, but could not meet Bhagwat ji and RSS general secretary Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi as there was no prior intimation. He came alone and paid a visit to the Hedgewar Smruti Mandir. The actor was briefed about the RSS’ role and responsibilities towards society and the activities undertaken by the Hedgewar memorial committee.”
Further, he said, “There was no specific discussion on any issue. He left after spending about an hour and exchanging pleasantries at the RSS headquarters.”
The actor, who is back to Kolkata where the Durga Puja celebrations are gradually reaching the peak, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts. Speculations are doing the rounds that Chakraborty might join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Jishnu Basu, RSS general secretary in south Bengal, said, “He went there because he was impressed by the RSS’ commitment towards society and wanted to stay connected with the Sangh.”
The famed actor, once known for his radical Left leanings, later he became close to several top Left leaders, including late Subhash Chakraborty, before being nominated by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to the Rajya Sabha.
However, he resigned two years later citing health issues after his name came up in the chit fund controversy. He was the brand ambassador of now-defunct Saradha group of companies owned by Sudipta Sen, who is serving a jail term at present.
He was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai in 2014 after it was found that he had received about Rs 1.2 crore from the company for his services. In 2015, Chakraborty returned the entire money to the ED in Kolkata.
The actor has appeared in more than 350 films, including Bengali, Hindi, Odia, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Punjabi.
He won the National Film Award for the best actor twice — in 1976 for ‘Mrigayaa’ and in 1996 for ‘Tahader Katha’. He won the national award for the third time as the best supporting actor in 1998 for his role in the movie ‘Swami Vivekananda’.
An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Chakraborty had completed his education in Kolkata. A comic book named, ‘Jimmy Zhingchak’, is based on him.
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