Chunky Panday
Deanne Pandey (sister-in-law)
Suyash Panday (born 26 September 1962), better known by his stage name Chunky Panday, is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films.[1][2] He has appeared in over 100 films in a career that has spanned over three decades.
His most successful films in Hindi were in the period 1987-1994. After the failure of his Hindi films as lead hero since 1994, his career in Hindi films faded away. He then worked in Bangladeshi cinema from 1995 and most of his films in Bangladesh were successful. He has been acting as a character actor since 2003 in Hindi films.
He is the father of actress Ananya Panday.[3]
Early life
Chunky Panday was born as Suyash Panday on 26 September 1962 in Bombay,[1][4][5] to Sharad Panday, a heart surgeon known for the 'Panday shunt' workaround for mitral valve replacement, and Snehlata Panday, a physician.[6] He has a brother Chikki Panday, a businessman.[7].
Career
Panday worked as an instructor in acting school in 1986. He used to be senior to many junior budding artists such as Akshay Kumar.[8]
1987–1993: Debut and early success
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/David_Dhawan_Govinda_Chunky_Pandey_still3.jpg/220px-David_Dhawan_Govinda_Chunky_Pandey_still3.jpg)
Panday debuted his acting career with the 1987 multi-starer film Aag Hi Aag opposite Neelam Kothari. Film producer Pahlaj Nihalani gave Panday his first break in 1987 by signing him up for two films, his debut film and Paap Ki Duniya. His second successful film was Paap Ki Duniya with Sunny Deol and Neelam. Subsequently, Panday appeared in many multi-hero films from 1987 to 1993. In 1988, Panday was appreciated for his supporting role in N. Chandra's film Tezaab featuring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. Panday played the character of Babban, Munna's (Anil Kapoor) friend.[9] For his performance in Tezaab, Panday was nominated for the Filmfare Award for the Best Supporting Actor.
Since then he has appeared in many films with mixed success throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. Most of his films where he had the leading role did not fare well at the box office from 1992.[citation needed] In most films, he was cast in supporting roles to senior actors like Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt. Some of those hit films with him in second lead, are Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Khatron Ke Khiladi (1988), Ghar Ka Chiraag (1989), Nakabandi, Zahreelay (1990), Rupaye Dus Karod, Vishwatma (1992), Lootere (1993) and Aankhen (1993). His solo hit was Parda Hai Parda (1992).
1994–2003: Career slump and hiatus
The advent of the 1990s saw a new wave of actors like Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan taking on roles as "romantic heroes", while Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Ajay Devgan grabbed the "action hero" roles, whereas Sunny Deol and Govinda remained established actors. Panday found it difficult to slot himself in either category. In addition, by the late nineties, solo-hero films were back in vogue instead of the multi-hero films in which Panday was generally cast and Panday was not seen as a marketable hero for solo hero films.[citation needed]
Panday grew increasingly tired of playing second fiddle to more prominent actors, but had difficulty being seen as marketable, other than supporting household names. "I was offered hero ke bhai ka (lead actor's brother) roles," he said. "I (told them), 'Boss, not happening.'"[10] Due to a lack of work in Bollywood, he moved to act as hero in Bangladesh films. In 1995, he was offered his first films as the lead hero in Bangladeshi films. He acted in six films between 1995 and 1997 as hero in Bangladesh and all of them were successful.[11] Between 1997 and 2002, he received minimal work in Bollywood, playing supporting roles in low-budget films like Tirchhi Topiwale, Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan, Kaun Rokega Mujhe and Jwalamukhi.
2003 to present: Return to Bollywood
Panday returned to Bollywood in 2003 playing minor supporting roles in Qayamat: City Under Threat, Elaan, Don: The Chase Begins Again, Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost and Apna Sapna Money Money.
In 2005, he played an underworld gangster in the Ram Gopal Varma film D – Underworld Badshah. Later, director Ram Gopal Varma roped him in for Darwaaza Bandh Rakho, a dark comedy thriller in which he played one of four robbers who hold a family hostage.
Between the years of 2006 to 2010, Panday would star in small comedic roles, settling into a reputation of being comic relief. The role that earned him the most success was playing the character of Indo-Italian "Aakhiri Pasta" in the 2010 comedy hit Housefull. His catchphrase from the movie that is often quoted is an accented "I'm-a joking!" His role was so memorable that he reprised the role in the sequels Housefull 2 in 2012, Housefull 3 in 2016 and in Housefull 4 in 2019.
In regards to his film selection since returning to acting in Bollywood, Panday has stated that he prefers not to play a hero nowadays because there is less pressure on him if the film fails and it's much more fun playing interesting characters and showing his range.[12]
While Panday's second stint in Bollywood has mainly consisted of starring as a character actor, he doesn't want to be pigeonholed into only doing comic roles. "I don't think I am restricting myself to doing only comedy. I am hoping that someone offers me something else. It requires a lot of guts for someone to cast me in something else. I am just hoping that someone sees something else in me other than comedy."[13]
This hope was realised with Panday starring as villains in the films Begum Jaan, Prassthanam, Saaho, Sardar and web series Abhay.
Personal life
Panday married Bhavana Panday in January 1998.[14] They have two daughters, Ananya, an actress, and Rysa.[15][16]
Filmography
Films
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Film | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Aag Hi Aag | Vijay Singh | ||
1988 | Paap Ki Duniya | Inspector Vijay | ||
Gunahon Ka Faisla | Sheroo | |||
Khatron Ke Khiladi | Mahesh | |||
Tezaab | Babban | |||
Agnee | Babla | |||
1989 | Ustaad | |||
Paanch Paapi | ||||
Mitti Aur Sona | Vijay Bhushan | |||
Kasam Vardi Kee | Ajay Singh | |||
Ghar Ka Chiraag | Ravi | |||
Na-Insaafi | Sonu | |||
Gola Barood | Vijay | |||
Zakham | Vijay | |||
1990 | Zahreelay | Raju Verma | ||
Naakabandi | Raja Singh | |||
Atishbaaz | ||||
Aaj Ke Shahenshah | Saawan | |||
Tadap | ||||
1991 | Kohraam | Vijay | ||
Do Matwale | Amar | |||
Rupaye Dus Karod | Suraj | |||
Khilaaf | Vikram 'Vicky' Veerpratap Singh | |||
Jeevan Daata | Shankar | |||
1992 | Parda Hai Parda | Vijay | ||
Sone Ki Lanka | Rohit | |||
Naseebwaala | Amar | |||
Kasak | Suraj | |||
Vishwatma | Akash Bhardwaj | |||
Khule-Aam | Surya | |||
Apradhi | Salim/Ravi | |||
1993 | Aankhen | Ranjeet (Munnu) | ||
Lootere | Ali | |||
Police Wala | Jimmy/CBI Officer Jagmohan | |||
Aakhri Chetawani | ||||
1994 | Gopalaa | Major Anand (Gopaala) | ||
Insaniyat | Hariharan | |||
Bollywood | Ashok | |||
Teesra Kaun? | Vijay Verma | |||
1997 | Kaun Rokega Mujhe | Bhola | ||
Bhoot Bhungla | Amar | |||
Swami Keno Ashami | Shaan/Biplob | Bangladeshi film | ||
1998 | Meyerao Manush | Rony | Bangladeshi film | |
Tirchhi Topiwale | Anand | |||
1999 | Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan | Chali D'Souza | ||
2000 | Jwalamukhi | Police inspector Bhola | ||
2001 | Kasam | Fugitive | ||
2003 | Qayamat: City Under Threat | Gopal | ||
Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost | Ajay singh | |||
2004 | Phool Aur Pathor | Bangladeshi-India joint venture film | ||
Prem Korechi Besh Korechi | Rana | Bangladeshi film | ||
2005 | Elaan | Salim | ||
D | Raghav | |||
Ssukh | Rakesh Verma | |||
2006 | Apna Sapna Money Money | Rana Jang Bahadur | ||
Darwaaza Bandh Rakho | Raghu | |||
Don: The Chase Begins Again | T.J | special appearance | ||
I See You | Akshay 'AK' Kapoor | |||
2007 | Fool N Final | Rocky | ||
Om Shanti Om | as himself | (special appearance) | ||
2008 | Hello Darling | Rocky | ||
2009 | Ek: The Power of One | Balli | ||
Paying Guest | Ronnie | |||
Sankat City | Sikandar Khan | dual role | ||
Daddy Cool | Harry | |||
Shortkut | Guru Kapoor | |||
De Dana Dan | Nonny Chadda | |||
2010 | Click | Manu Sharma | ||
Housefull | Aakhri Pasta | |||
Tees Maar Khan | Himself | |||
2011 | Ready | special appearance | ||
Rascals | Bhagat Bhulabhai Chouhan (BBC) | |||
2012 | Housefull 2 | Aakhri Pasta | ||
Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum | Baba 3G | |||
Hum Hai Raahi Car Ke | Khukhri Thapa / Paaji | |||
2013 | Bullett Raja | Lallan Tiwari | ||
Himmatwala | Michael Jaikishan | |||
2014 | Gang of Ghosts | Gulab Chand | ||
Humshakals | Bijlani | |||
2016 | Housefull 3 | Aakhri Pasta | [17] | |
Badman | [18] | |||
2017 | Begum Jaan | Kabir | ||
2019 | Saaho | Devraj | Simultaneously shot in Telugu | |
Prassthanam | Bajwa Khatri | [19] | ||
Housefull 4 | Pehli Pasta/Aakhri Pasta | |||
2020 | Jawaani Jaaneman | Rajender Sharma aka Rocky | ||
Vikun Tak | Abdul Lathif | |||
2022 | Nayika Devi The Warrior Queen | Muhammad Ghori | Gujarati film debut | [20] |
Liger | Pandey | Simultaneously shot in Telugu | ||
Sardar | Maharaj Rathore | Tamil film | [21] |
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Platform(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Abhay | Harsh | ||
2020–present | Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives | Bhavna's husband | ||
2022 | Baked Season 3: The Bad Trip | Himself | ||
2023 | Pop Kaun? | Anthony Gonsalves |
Awards and nominations
Year | From | Award | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Filmfare Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Tezaab | Nominated |
2007 | Best Performance in a Comic Role | Apna Sapna Money Money | Nominated | |
IIFA Awards | Best Performance in a Comic Role | Nominated | ||
2013 | Housefull 2 | Nominated | ||
Zee Cine Awards | Best Actor in a Comic Role | Nominated | ||
2021 | Invertis University | Honorary Doctorate | Won |
References
- ^ a b "From arclight to mining light: Chunky Pandey won offshore mining rights, but it was no happy ending". The Economic Times. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "Chunky Pandey shooting in Lucknow". Times of India. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Colacello, Bob (9 January 2018). "Inside Paris's 25th Annual le Bal des Débutantes". Vanity Fair.
- ^ "Chunky Pandey's Star-Studded Birthday Bash: SRK, Gauri, Malaika and Others Spotted at Party". International Business Times. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "Chunky Pandey set to make his Marathi film debut". Outlook. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ Singh, Veenu (27 September 2020). ""When I was 22, I was gatecrashing Bollywood parties," says Chunky Panday". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Alanna Panday's wedding: Ananya Panday, father Chunky Panday's dancing video goes viral". The Economic Times. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "Akshay was huge fan of his once acting instructor Chunky Pandey". Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ IANS (16 June 2010). "Chunky Pandey says happy playing second lead in films". NDTV Movies. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ "The Second Life of Chunky Pandey". Open The Magazine. 26 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ "The Second Life of Chunky Pandey". 26 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ "I Had to Tell Myself I Was No Longer a Hero: Chunky Panday on His Big Bollywood Comeback". 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ "Chunky Pandey doesn't want to stick to comedy". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ Sabharwal, Mehak (9 May 2019). "Bhavna Pandey reveals people were calculating if she conceived Ananya Panday before marriage or after". www.timesnownews.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Bhavna Pandey reveals if daughter Ananya was born before or after marriage". Free Press Journal. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Ananya Panday Twinning With Mom Bhavana And Sister Rysa Is The Cutest Of All Throwbacks". NDTV. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Chunky Pandey to play double role in 'Housefull 3'". The Times of India. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Mangaonkar, Shalvi (27 March 2016). "Wait, what? Gulshan Grover is playing a good guy now. Guess the villain". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "Chunky Panday: Meet "The Opportunist" from Prassthanam". Glamsham. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ "Chunky Panday introduced as Muhammad Ghori in Gujarati period drama 'Nayika Devi: The Warrior Queen'". ThePrint. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Lakshmi, V (14 June 2022). "Chunky Panday shoots in Baku's parliament building for Karthi's Sardar". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Chunky Panday at IMDb
- Chunky Panday at Bollywood Hungama
- Chunky Panday on Instagram