Bimal had lived in the by lanes of Calcutta for decades , he lived in one of the many shanty towns near the tram line behind the Park Street area which is the most commercial part of Calcutta . It has the famous English bakery Flurry’s to the left and the two out famous dinners Peter Cat famous for Hello Kabab and Mogambo another continental eatery . The streets ends with the Park Hotel a symbol of luxury in Calcutta and it still remains a party spot of the cities young and famous . Bimal was a poor Bengali boy not a street urchin but not a urban lad either , he went to school till the eleventh standard in the local government school but then dropped out , to look after the family business selling Jhaal Muri in local parks . His father was a tram driver and mother helped in the business .
Bimal had two younger sisters , they were not abject poverty but just managed to make ends meet . Life was tough , he woke up before dawn and went to sleep at night . Now it was unto him to look after his family , as his father was getting old and soon would be retired from his service . The only escape from his tough life on the street and escape the ever increasing confusion in his head , he would often buy a Rs 5 cinema ticket and watch the latest Bollywood films , he enjoyed local Hollywood cinema also and was a great fan of Bimal Roy and Satyajit Ray . He understood art cinema like no other film critic , maybe because he was living the life these filmmakers were projecting in their films . But his heart would skip a beat when his favourite start Mithun Chakarborty films would hit the theatre , he would be the first to buy a ticket and many times payed in black to get ticket . He watched Disco Dancer 25 times and always in the hall , Jal he watched 12 times , then there was Aag hi Aag , Yamraj , Agnipath and many more . He loved Mithun Da for his acting and much more for his dancing . Bimal was mesmerised by Mithun’s dance moves in The Disco Dancer , he would practice these moves infant of his mirror in his room , wearing the trade mark head band and shirt instead of a Guitar Bimal had a cricket bat in his hand . He would switch the TV on and dance to the music of Disco Dancer every time the song came up . He had become as good as the master himself over the years of practice .
His family ealised he had a talent for dancing and acting , may be that could be their ticket out of poverty ,” Bimal Da you are brilliant in your Disco Dancer dance , you must try and do some shows in our local fair and festivals , I am sure you will make money , we can charge people Rs 1 for a ticket to watch your dance .” Nandini his youngest sister gave a quiet suggestion after watching Bimal perform in his room .
So it was decided the first performance will be given in-front of the Muri Stand near Nan-dan’s , there was a lot of arty party crowd there .Bimal had a lot of friends in this area mostly fellow hawkers selling book, post cards , Cola or other such Nik Naks . There were a few taxi drivers who were a big fan of his Mithun dancing . The performance started early in the afternoon . Suddenly Bimal jumped form Behind his stall and shouted “ See the famous dance Disco Dancer of Mithun , performed by me you will not know the difference come Babu Ji dance with me I will show you the dance moves of Disco Dancer . As if that was not an enough of a attention grab Nandini his sister started chatting up the women folks to gather around for the Disco Dancer song all with music and lights .As if it was all a choreographed event Bimal took out his outfit a Silver shirt with red and blue bulbs on them , it looked like the Yaraana outfit of Amitabh when he sang the song ‘ Sara Zamana Hasino ka Diwana .’ Nandini gave him the white head band and in Minutes our local Park street Mithun was ready to perform . Bimal danced that day like no other his hard practice in-front of the mirror paid off , he moved his legs just like the original Dada the son of Bengal , he moved his waist just the way the super star use to , the look he gave with his eye the way he moved his hands in a circular motion , no one could make the difference as Bimal was now old enough to look like the original , he was tall , darkish and slim , he had dada’s eyes and all his mannerism . He was a cheap copy though but good enough for the street crowd at Nan-dan’s who had to pay only a buck to watch him . The first show was a hit as Bimal got a lot of support from the local flute vendor , who played the flute to the Disco Dancer tune and of course the taxi drivers who barred their horns from time to time to egg our man on and motivate him . The show went on for half an hour and it was a success , they never sold an Jhaal Muri that day but they made more money than they had made the entire month .The act had delivered the desired result , as Nandini had professed this talent of Bimal could be the families way out of poverty and desolation .
When one is poor you except what you get and be great full for it , at least Bimal and his siblings did not have to sleep under a bus shelter , eat from the garbage bins or beg for money . They had a roof over their head and enough means and resources to dream of a better future , every one has that right and now it was unto Bimal to take charge of thief family . That night he was very restless he tossed and turned in bed as if his soul was howling form inside or was it the hidden kalakar within him who wanted to get out . He got up switched the lamp light and went in-front of the mirror , he then tied the silver head band to his head and picked up a comb to represent the mike . Within min utes he was Mithun the icon , the super hero the messiah of the masses the real entertainer . He began to play act and practice his moves . A screeching tram on the tram line stopped him in his act .He looked to his right and their was wooden table on top of it lay the famous poetry book of Ravindra Nath Tagore Geetanjali , it was a book his father had gifted to him years back , something that told the family that they too had superior literary roots . Bimal understood that if he had to get out of his current situation he would have to create absolute poetry .
He started spending more time in Tolly Gunge looking at VCR in video shops of Mithun’s films , the great man had purchased a hotel in Otty and was shooting all his films their , these were low budget brain dead revenge gatha’s meant for the chavani class . But this was what he was and that was exactly his audience the poor , the destitute , the labourers the rickshaw pullers and the coolie’s that is were his audience was and he had to enact that he was Mithun and he was their entertainer .But was Bimal really up to this task was he the finished product the Mithun Clone the world had been waiting for , he needed a master , sine one who could Hawn his skills and make him the gem he wanted to be . He found his mentor in Dance Mater Goswami .
Goawami ji was a dance instructor he helped the local brass band and nautanki’s to perform better . He was a dancer himself in the olden days but only the classics for him , he tried to stay away from commercial Bollywood stuff that was just left for the wedding season . But Goswami ji knew his dance , he wad old now nearly the end of his fifties but he still knew some old moves especially the ones performed by Mithun .’ Goswami da become my teacher teach me all about dance and make me like Mithun Da , I just love his art .” Goswami was a wise sage and said ,” With attention you can achieve everything but if you loose attention you loose your rhythm your concentration and then the dance .” He explained making gestures with his hand .” I will train you , your father and me go back a long way we went to the same school , but I will be strict .’ So it was settled every evening after selling muni Bimal would trek upto the bada maidan to be with his sir Goswami ,” First rule in dance be flexible , like rubber , you body has to feel the rhythm and the beat for that your heart has to feel it , the body and the dance moves are just an enactment of the rhythm .” He explained as he waved a wooden stick about , he had a old tape recorder on the side and switched it on immediately music of Disco Dancer filled the air and Bimal started dancing like the Big Boss , when Goswami sir though his moves were exaggerated our out of tune he would back him with his stick , at times with force some time he would hit Bimal on the thighs sometimes on his knees , jus to get the body language right ,” No no master ji you will ill me like this I am here to learn dance not Karate .’ Bimal asked him to stop .’ This is just the begging n son I am a tough task master I will make you like a ball dancer your every move will be poetry I want people not to know the difference between you and Mithun da , you have to be that good .” Goswami was positive that with time Bimal will perfect his art of dancing and singing just like his hero .
He regularly practiced in-front of his stall giving live performances , he made enough money to buy a pair of new sun glasses , silver shirt new head band , his act looked better and better all the time especially the way he moon walked on the side walks in-front of the red light . Many passer by would stop over and two some money some would even take pictures but they ere tourists mostly . “ Mazza a gaya we have made a killing today almost Rs 80 , I am so happy Bhai you need to goto Mumbai , Calcutta is to small for you even small mimicry artists make millions in Mumbai and drive big cars .’ Nandini said with stars in her eyes she was sure that her dear brother would take her along to the big city and she would be part fo his journey from being a Street Hawker to a Mithun Clone .” No something is missing Goswami sir is teaching me dancing and I have perfected many moves but I feel my get up is in complete I am not getting that feel , I need a guitar the one Mitun had in Disco dancer the electric one , that will add more glamor to my act , a real electric guitar , but we don’t have that much money that Guitar will cost thousands .” He felt sad , he was trying to count how long that would take fro him to save up and his dream looked very distant .” Bhai way not steal it from a music shop !.” Nandini had all the answers ,” But from where .” Bimal asked .” Mehta music store , behind the tram line , it is a small shop but they sell most music equipment , guitar , flute , tabla and what not .” But how was the other question , simple break the window make a forced exist and run with the stuff , before that they would need to chop of the shop burger alarm which was simple you need to chop a wire connecting the alarm to the wooden roof that would make the alarm redundant , then they could make a forced entry with out much noise .
“ Let’s do it Bhai , for Disco and for Mithun da .” Nandini had s shrewd smile on her face , she would remain Bimal’s financial advisor and money managers for times to come but as of now they had a music shop to loot . They decided to absolve the shop from a far ,” Here use this Bimal gave Nandini a pair of plastic Binoculars , now you will see everything .” Mr Mehta was a small fat balding figure in his forties , he ran the shop with his wife they took turns during the day , mostly local band members or people from the music school would visit the music store to buy instruments or get their old instruments like sitar and sarangi repaired . In the basement The Mehta’s had a work shop with three employees who repaired old music instruments . Th shop would shut at 7; 00 pm and the couple would retire to bed to 10:00 dead of night past 12 mid night would be the right time to strike , all the staff would have left for their homes far away from the shop . If the burglar alarm could be chopped off one could break the window pane with brick open the windows form inside and make a forced entry without much commotion or any one waking up . The electric Guitar lay in the almara in a wooden casket all that was required was to whisk it out of the shop .” This is easy Bhai , the guitar is ours tonight .” Nandani was confident that she could get the loot , if Bimal could climb on the roof of the shop through the tree branches near by and cut the alarm wires .
As planned the super thieves the Bonney and Clide of Bong land enacted their plan to capture the soul of Bimal the electric guitar . Bimal climes on top of a neighboring tree and slithers down , then he jumped on top of the shop roof . It was slippery but he managed to hold his balance , on the edge of the roof was a panel that linked to the burglar alarm all he had to do was open the panel and chop of all the wires with his scissors that he had held in his mouth . He crawled all the way across the roof and located the white panel , as he took the cover off , sparks flew as if it was a cracker , Bimal tree the panel with shudder as it flew out of his hands and feel on the street below . This awake the street dogs who began to bark . Bimal was scared he closed his eyes and began to pray , oh! God don’t let him get caught today . Then there was silence again and he began the tasks of cutting off the wires off the alarm . Nandini as watching all the action from across the street hidden behind an empty rickshaw with her Binoculars , her heart fainted when Bimal tropes the panel cover , but was pleased that the first phase of the mission had completed , Binal gave her a two thumbs up indicating that the alarms had been copped off . It was now her turn , she slowly walked across the street towards the shop with slow steady steps , she avoided the pavements and the puddles . Then she went behind the shop and spotted a appropriate entry point a window big enough to let her through . She had a cloth bag tied to her shoulder and she took out a brick just half a piece to strike and break the window . But that would make noise and wake every one , so she waited for a while , her eyes staring at the floor , she waited for a Taxi or a jeep or a car to cross , the rumbling of the engine would be enough distraction for her to strike hard and break the window pane .
A green ambassador passed by the road roaring Wirth speed , this was her cue to strike and like Sati she did , in one blow the window was broken , she opened the window and made a forced entry . The street lights fell into the room through the window and she saw the red and white electric guitar in-front of her . For seconds she froze as if mesmerised by the guitar its shape and its beauty .Suddenly the room got light up with bright green purple and orange disco lights . Their was flashes of lights on the walls of the music shop , now in-front of her was Mithin da in his Disco suit with guitar in hand , he played the tune of Disco Dancer and did his trade mark leg shake typical Mithun da .’ I know I am your dream , love people. Who dream , this is my gift to you to help you full fill yours .” The half God half Elvis figure gave the electric guitar to Nandani and then in puff vanished , everything vanished with him the lights the music the sounds , she was back into the real world the dark interior of the music shop , with the window broken and air coming in through the broken space .She had no time to waste she opened the casket picked up the guitar , checked that it had all the strings and made a dash back out of the window across the street and into the tram lines behind the Park Street area . Bimal had asked her to wait for him behind Suruchi the famous Bengali eatery in the area .
“ Dada Dekho I got it Mithun gave it to me , he came out of the casket and gave it to me , he said it was his gift to you .” Bimal was amused ,” You have been dreaming chal there is a lot of time for our dream to be fulfilled , but yes this is the first step .” There we had it Bimal and Nandani had burgled a shop , but for passion people have done worse this was just an electric guitar .
Bimal always looked at his act of busting a music shop as a Divine Epiphany where Mithun appears as the fairy God mother and blesses him and Nandani , and the guitar was his Prasad to Bimal .” All is fair in Dance and war .” Bimal smiled his training was compete he has all the moves the gestures , the act he was a real Mithun clone even more real then the great man himself , all that was needed was a large stage that could hold and showcase his talent . Calcutta was too small for him now , he had ambitions and with Nandini egging him on , he new he had to take the next big step , head towards the city of dreams Mumbai .
