Chunky believes that failure is important
FAME is important for an actor. Some experience it early in their careers, while others take years to get into the spotlight. Stardom, however, can be fickle. Ask Chunky Pandey. The actor has seen success, as well as failure in his Bollywood career of over three decades.
“It was, perhaps, written in my destiny that I would rise and fall and rise. I have experienced success, as well as failure, in life. To be honest, I have no regrets. You can’t be on top all the time,” Pandey said, about losing out in the race after a smashing start to his career in the late eighties.
Pandey’s debut film as a lead actor happened in 1987, in the Pahlaj Nihalani-produced hit, Aag Hi Aag.
It also starred veterans Dharmendra and Shatrughan Sinha, but Pandey won an instant fan base with his action hero turn.
The late 1980s marked the era of multistarrers and Pandey appeared in a series of films with other big stars, including Tezaab, Paap Ki Duniya and Gunahon Ka Faisla, but he managed to leave a mark with his spirited screen presence and handsome looks.
The initial success was, however, short-lived and the actor was soon reeling under flops.
His 1993 release, David Dhawan’s Aankhen, remains one of the biggest blockbusters of that era, but his co-star, Govinda, walked away with most of the applause.
With not many interesting roles coming his way, Pandey moved to the lucrative Bangladesh film industry for a while.
“When I returned from Bangladesh and started working here again after almost eight years, I realised people had forgotten me. There were children who did not even know my name. So, I decided to work in films that children would see and do roles that would entertain them,” he said, explaining his decision to sign slapstick hits such as the Housefull films during this phase.
His role of Aakhri Pasta in the Housefull series won him newgeneration fans in the 2010s. Does he miss stardom? “Not really. I was lucky I had it. Many people do not even get a chance to experience stardom. I feel fortunate that I got great opportunities in life.”
He then takes a philosophical stance, talking about failure.
“One should experience failure. It is more difficult to deal with success than failure because when you are dealing with failure, very few people notice you. But when you are on the top, everyone has an eye on you.”
After working in nearly 80 films, the 56-year-old says he is now trying to reinvent himself. He feels it is important for an artiste to change and grow with time.
“Change is the only constant in life. You should always be prepared to usher change within yourself. From the past couple of years, I am trying to do different types of roles and genres,” he said, adding: “With time, our audience has also evolved. Nowadays, they want something different. So, I am exploring different areas of acting now.”
Chunky recently gave the short film genre a shot with Praveen Fernandes’ Tap Tap. He returns to more mainstream roles with Saaho and Housefull 4 later this year.