Shastri: Rajatava Dutta opens up about working with Mithun Chakraborty

The film Shastri starring Mithun Chakraborty will be released during Puja. The trailer was dropped recently. Directed by Pathikrit Basu, the film features Rajatava Dutta in a pivotal role. 

A scene in the trailer showed Mithun as a security guard and Rajatava sitting opposite him. Rajatava put his feet on Mithun’s lap. It created a buzz among the audience. Mithun, along with Debashree, is caught in the old mood. 

At the end of the trailer, the situation reverses and Mithun lifts his feet on Rajatava’s shoulder. Mithun and Rajatava share a long relationship. Rajatava admitted that he felt hesitant to do the scene. He told Anandabazar Online ‘It felt a bit awkward. But the screenplay demanded that. I told this to Mithun da and he said ‘Arre let’s go and give it a shot.’ ‘ 

Rajatava said, ‘Later, when Mithunda lifts his legs on my shoulder, that scene will garner the most claps.’ He added, ‘After the scene, I gave a pranam to Mithunda by touching his feet.’ 

Mithun and Rajatava first shared the screen in the film Rasta directed by Bratya Basu. Mithun as the hero and Rajatava as the villain became a popular team in commercial cinema. Their first film was Barood. Rajatava said ‘I was a newcomer then and it was my first negative role. I guess Mithunda had a role in selecting me.’ However, he asked Mithun about that in Shastri’s set and MIthun replied that he could not remember old memories. Rajatava said, ‘Generally, many people would want to take credit in such situations. But Mithun da simply and honestly said that he could not recollect whether he was behind me getting the role.’ 

Rajatava thinks it is his achievement that he learnt acting from Mithun. He remembered a scene from Barood. He could not understand how to act in an unreal scene. Mithun jokingly told him ‘This happens if you do a lot of theaters.’ Mithun also resolved the crisis. ‘Dada first asked me whether I knew the dialogues by heart. Then he rehearsed playing my character. In my entire life, that was the only time someone showed me acting on the floor.’ 

In a scene in Shastri, Mithun had to eat desserts. It made him unwell later. Rajatava said, ‘I asked him and MIthunda said ‘What shall I do? The shot requires it. Really, I learnt a lot from him.’ 

Rajatava said that during the beginning of his career, Mithun used to praise him at different places. He said that it was no less than any award to him. ‘I remember, in a film Mithunda wrote me a few lines. I kept it. We meet in many programs. I want him to keep well.’