Mithun Chakraborty Is Back

Indian actor Mithun Chakraborty is enjoying a renaissance, of sorts, in both Bengali and Hindi cinema. He flamed out in the early 90s with flop after flop, but is now getting rave reviews, mostly for supporting roles, from villains to father-figures. But this line from The Hindustan Times did irritate me somewhat:

He was hailed as the poor man's Amitabh Bachchan in the 1980s.

Poor in what sense? That he was cheaper? Considering he was signing movies left and right, and for princely sums, it seems strange to say Mithun was a poor man’s Amitabh.