Ashish Vidyarthi admits doing B-grade films with Mithun Chakraborty for money: 'It was a very painful time for me'

Ashish Vidyarthi received a National Award early in his career, much like Mithun Chakraborty. However, both ended up working in what Ashish called “B-grade” films. He revealed in a recent interview that financial desperation forced him to accept such roles, as he had no choice but to support himself and his family.Financial struggles and career decisionsDuring his conversation with Siddharth Kannan on YouTube, Ashish Vidyarthi opened up about his struggles, saying, “I did a lot of films just for the sake of money. I had extremely old parents. When I came to Bombay, I was determined to give a good lifestyle to my parents. I was a passionate actor, but I couldn’t wait for amazing roles to come to me because I had responsibilities.” Reflecting on tough times, he added, “I have done a lot of films for money. It was a bad time when they used to make films with Mithun Da in Ooty. I was in many of those films. It was a very painful time for me. I knew I was taking up these roles only to run my house. I knew I didn’t want to see myself like this on those sets. People would get disappointed in me, saying, ‘You can do better.’ I would just say, ‘Yeah,’ and continue doing those films.”The reality of choicesTalking about his choices, Ashish said, “I was living in a rented house. I had to take care of my parents. At that stage in my life, I thought, ‘Boss, I have to take some action.’ The situation was such that I couldn’t say no to anyone. They would be like, ‘Kyu nahi karega be?’ Even some of the great directors said this to me. When I said no to them, I had to figure out another way to earn my bread—and that’s when I turned to the South.”Breakthrough opportunityAfter struggling for over two months without any work, Ashish got a call from the veteran filmmaker T Rama Rao. He recalled, “I took a flight, went there, spoke to a lot of people, but didn’t get any work for two months until I received a call from T Rama Rao. When I met him, he told me, ‘Ashish, I don’t want you, but my mad director wants you. You have to do the film. I won’t pay you anything.’ I accepted it. Then he said he was joking.”Mithun Chakraborty’s career shiftAfter his peak as a leading actor, Mithun relocated to Ooty and focused on producing and starring in numerous low-budget action films there. Although these movies were commercially successful, they earned him the label of a “B-grade” actor due to their modest production values and repetitive nature.Defending the legacyIn a discussion with the YouTube channel Who’s On Air?, Namashi Chakraborty spoke up for his father, Mithun, saying, “There was a time, in the mid-90s, when my father’s career was declining as a lead. So, he started doing low-budget action films in Ooty. He made about 100 of them in Ooty, and the media termed him a B-grade actor. They looked down on his films. But the fact that he was able to do 100 films living in Ooty was unheard of. He made his own industry, but the media never supported that—they have their favourites.”