The quality and outcome of Mimoh's purported dream launch, Jimmy, has sent shock waves across the industry. While the pre-release vibes from the film were indicative of a hard time ahead, not even the shrewdest trade pundit could have predicted such a harsh and relentless attack on a film that clearly and tragically doesn't deliver the goods.
While the shell-shocked star-parent Mithun Chakraborty has gone into depression, sources close to the family say Mithun wasn't quite unprepared for the severe backlash. "Mithun-da kind of knew what was coming. When he had seen the rushes, he was shocked by the tackiness of the product. Jimmy was certainly not the launch that the doting father had dreamt for his son. Given a choice, Mithun-da would've liked to shelve the film. And if it was his own home production, he'd have done exactly that, regardless of financial losses. But this was someone else's money and simply refunding Rs 5 crores was not the solution."
It was late last year, after seeing the rushes, that the appalled and panicky Papa stepped in to perform Operation Rescue. "Mithun-da saw how poorly the film had been put together. The production values were much below par. The producers had promised to shoot in foreign locations, especially Dubai. All Mithun-da saw were indoor shots done shabbily. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Two extra songs were shot. No expenses were spared to make them look lavish. But it was too late," the source ends regretfully.
A lot of Chakraborty's friends also feel that the choice of director was wrong. Continues the source, "Raj N. Sippy had made a series of successful films in the 1970s. But he has been pretty much out of the loop in recent times. Mithunda's friends advised him against handing over the responsibility of launching Mimoh to a director whose best years came 25 years ago. But Mithunda was adamant. He argued that Raj Sippy had worked with the best of superstars in the past from Amitabh Bachchan to Dharmendra to Mithun. In fact, Raj had directed Mithun in Boxer which was a flop, but which remains one of Mithuda's favourite films. Raj Sippy had also directed Akshay Kumar in his first film (Sugandh). So Raj was the chosen once… Once things started going wrong, there was little Mithun-da could do."
Post-release the velocity of the criticism against Jimmy has hit the emotional actor hard. Mithun-da 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."
Courtesy: Bollywood Hungama
