Mithun Chakraborty on Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan at KIFF 2026: What He Said Then vs Now, and How Their Careers Compare

The short version: on Sunday 1 November 2026, at the launch of the new logo for the 32nd Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) at Nandan, Mithun Chakraborty, the festival’s chief advisor, was asked whether Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan will come in December. According to Hindustan Times Bangla, he answered, with visible irritation, that they used to be there and now there is no one. He repeated the same line when each name was put to him. Both stars opened earlier editions of the festival. Below: exactly what was reported, what Mithun has said about both men before, and how his career stacks up against theirs.

What was reported

Hindustan Times Bangla (Priyanka Mukherjee, 2 November 2026) reports that when Mithun was asked whether Shah Rukh and Amitabh would attend, he said, in an irritated tone, “they were, now no one is” (in Bengali, tanra chhilen, ekhon ar keu nei), and said it again for each name. He then said the guest list will include Rajinikanth, Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Kangana Ranaut. The Statesman’s report of the same event adds Paresh Rawal, Anurag Kashyap, Anupam Kher, Johnny Lever and Madhur Bhandarkar to the list of Bollywood names expected at the inauguration.

HT Bangla notes the remark came a day before Shah Rukh Khan’s 61st birthday, and that his fans reacted angrily. Asked the same question, KIFF chairman Prosenjit Chatterjee, according to HT, said Amitabh himself had said in the past that physical strain makes it hard for him to join the festival, and did not comment on Shah Rukh. Jeet also took part in the launch.

Fair-play note: we found this account in HT Bangla only. We have not seen a video or a full transcript, so the tone (“irritated”) is the reporter’s description, and the exact wording is as HT quotes it. We will update this page if Mithun explains or clarifies.

The setting: a festival with a new government and a new look

• The Statesman says the logo got its saffron touch after the BJP won the state assembly elections, and that the committee also moved the opening from Netaji Indoor to Victoria Memorial. Delegate-card details go online from 5 November.
• Mithun is the chief advisor of the 2026 festival committee; Prosenjit Chatterjee is chairman. Wikipedia lists Mithun as an advisor to the West Bengal government for information and culture from 7 October 2026.
• HT also reports that former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s name was removed from a plaque at Nandan the same day.

What Mithun has said about them before

Then and now: what Mithun said, and what he says today

Opinion. Put Mithun’s own words side by side and the gap is hard to miss. In July 2023, Amitabh Bachchan was “the biggest star of the century”, and being called his poor man’s version was the greatest compliment of Mithun’s career. In November 2026, asked about the same man, the answer is “now no one is”. Amitabh’s record did not shrink in between: he was in Kalki 2898 AD, one of the biggest films of 2024. And Shah Rukh Khan, whom Mithun named in December 2025 as a draw in Jailer 2, became “no one” in less than a year. What changed is not the stars. It is who now runs the festival. Here is the record, item by item, and every item is sourced below.

1. 2023: Mithun describes Amitabh as the biggest star of the century and takes the “poor man’s Amitabh” tag as his best compliment.
2. 2018 and 2022: Shah Rukh and Amitabh headline the KIFF inaugurations. In December 2022, with the Trinamool government in charge, the BJP asked why Mithun was not invited while stars from other states were, saying KIFF felt incomplete without him (Deccan Herald).
3. 2014 to 2016: Mithun sat in the Rajya Sabha as a Trinamool member nominated by Mamata Banerjee, and resigned in December 2016. He joined the BJP on 7 March 2021.
4. November 2026: with the BJP in power in the state and Mithun running the festival’s advisory side, he answers a question about the same two stars with “they were, now no one is”.

Our reading. We cannot see inside anyone’s head, so we will not state a motive as fact. What the record shows is a man who praised Amitabh when praise cost nothing, complained when his own side was left off a guest list in 2022, and turned dismissive of the same two stars once he was the one holding the list. The 2022 complaint is the telling part: the BJP said KIFF felt incomplete without Mithun. In 2026 he is inside the room and suggests it is complete without the two men who opened it. Calling that hypocrisy is a fair reading; calling it convenient memory is a kinder one.

The other side, in fairness. Supporters can say the line was an irritated reply to a repeated question, that “now no one is” may only mean no one has confirmed, that a festival can move on from past headliners, and that Amitabh may well be unwell, as Prosenjit Chatterjee suggested. Mithun has not been quoted explaining himself. But the festival’s identity as a showcase for Bengal’s ties with Indian cinema does include both men: Shah Rukh was once Bengal’s brand ambassador and co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders, and HT calls Amitabh Bengal’s son-in-law through his marriage to Jaya Bhaduri. A chief advisor who says “no one” about them owes the festival an explanation.

How the three careers compare

So who has achieved more?

This part is our view, and it separates three different yardsticks. Honours and peak box office: Amitabh Bachchan leads, with four Best Actor National Awards, three Padma honours and the biggest hits of an entire decade. Shah Rukh Khan leads on global reach and on recent scale: two Rs 1,000 crore films, 15 Filmfare Awards and a business empire. Volume and reach to the front bench: Mithun made around 350 films and was the surest draw in single-screen and small-town cinema for years, which is what he himself points to. Journey: a Kolkata outsider who won a National Award with his first film, slept rough in Mumbai, became a dance-film phenomenon, then a producer-businessman, MP and now festival advisor. Few careers in Indian cinema have more range.

On awards and global stature, Mithun stands behind both men; on quantity and on being a Bengali who made it big in Bombay on his own terms, he belongs in the same conversation. That is exactly why the remark lands badly: a man with three National Awards and 350 films has no need to make two colleagues smaller in order to stand tall. Mithun’s own 2023 words about Amitabh were the better answer.

What to watch next

• Whether the festival publishes an official guest list. So far the names come only from Mithun and press reports, and none of the stars has confirmed.
• Any reaction from Shah Rukh Khan’s camp or Amitabh Bachchan’s family. We found none as of 2 November.
• Delegate-card details, due on the official KIFF website from 5 November.

Frequently asked

What did Mithun Chakraborty say about Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan? Asked if they would attend KIFF 2026, he reportedly said they were there before and now no one is, repeating it for each name (Hindustan Times Bangla, 2 November 2026).

Will Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan attend KIFF 2026? Nothing has been announced. Prosenjit Chatterjee said Amitabh has himself indicated that health makes attending difficult. KIFF runs 16 to 23 December, with the opening at Victoria Memorial.

Who will attend instead? Mithun named Rajinikanth, Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Kangana Ranaut. The Statesman adds Paresh Rawal, Anurag Kashyap, Anupam Kher, Johnny Lever and Madhur Bhandarkar. None of this is confirmed by the stars themselves yet.

Sources

• Hindustan Times Bangla, 2 Nov 2026: Mithun on Shah Rukh and Amitabh at KIFF
• The Statesman: KIFF logo gets saffron touch
• Koimoi, 20 July 2023: Mithun on being called “poor man’s Amitabh”
• Pinkvilla: Mithun on Shah Rukh and Salman’s superstardom
• India TV, Dec 2025: Mithun on Jailer 2 and Shah Rukh
• Deccan Herald, Dec 2022: Why Mithun not invited to KIFF, BJP asks
• Wikipedia: Mithun Chakraborty, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan (awards, films, politics)
• The Week: Shah Rukh Khan’s Best Actor award for Jawan

Awards counts are taken from Wikipedia and may be updated; where Wikipedia is inconsistent (for example Amitabh Bachchan’s Filmfare total) we left the number out.