|
Thursday November 16, 03:25 PM
 Talk
to Chunky Pandey for 10 minutes and he makes you as
comfortable as you would be to a buddy of 5 years. The
man still has that boyish charm around him in spite of
being in the industry since his debut film 'Aag Hi Aag'
that was released a couple of decades back. And now
with 'Apna Sapna Money Money', the accolades haven't
stopped coming for his Nepali act. Over to the man for
some laughs and more!
Congrats, your Nepali act in ASMM seems to have been
lapped up in a big way.
Thanks. I am absolutely at the top of the world with
the kind of response the film has generated for me.
Believe me, at least in the recent times I have never
received such an overwhelming appreciation by means of
congratulatory SMS and phone calls. Think of it, I
just went for dinner to a restaurant yesterday and
there are people who were actually coming over and
asking me to narrate a line or two in my now-famous
Nepali accent. Now acting in front of camera is a
different thing while doing it in a restaurant was a
different ballgame. Man, it was embarrassing [Laughs]!
But tell us how did this entire Nepali thing
happen?
To begin with this character was devised as an Anthony
Gonsalves kind of character from Goa. Then when I was
roped in, we along with Subhash Ghai had a discussion
on changing it to someone belonging to a Nepali
origin. Now since I am so tall, it was difficult to
project me as someone purely Nepali and hence the
Pathan angle was thrown in. So now I was someone who
had a Pathan dad and a Nepali mom. Further we wanted
to get the accent right and I spent around a month
perfecting it. I will tell you something more. I had
something in my mind going around for years - "What if
Gabbar Singh was born in Nepal?" From here I took a
funny take on the entire character and situation.
[Laughs wholeheartedly] You could say that my ASMM act
was a tribute to 'Sholay'!
And your tribute indeed seems to have come out with
flying colors?
I am truly gladdened by the fact and special mention
to Riteish here because our relationship in the film
was reminiscent of the kind that is shared by 'Tom and
Jerry'. I mean throughout the film you see me chasing
him and him trying to come up with different ploys to
evade me. Also, full marks to his woman act. It was
simply splendid and had such a big impact overall on
the film. For this matter even Rajpal Yadav. Wasn't he
simply too good as a wannabe Sarkar?
How are your old pals reacting to the film?
Oh, David Dhawan after watching the film called me in
the middle of the night at Salman's place. He kissed
me on the forehead and told me that this was the best
ever performance he had ever seen from me. He was glad
that I had done something where I truly changed my
image completely and did something afresh with such
good timing. Coming from him, it was quite flattering
indeed.
To be honest, your one scene act in 'Don' too was
notable, but in the hindsight what made you pick up
that part?
Arrey yaar, agar film dekho to 'Don' ki bohni to main
hi karata hoon naa! [Laughs] The simple reason for
doing 'Don' was that I loved the original a lot and
had told Farhan and Shahrukh Khan that whenever you
decide to remake 'Don', pull me in for a part. Then
Shahrukh gave me a call once the film was being
planned and told me about the part. And I take pride
upon the fact that I am present in the first scene
where Don's character is brought to fore! That's why I
say that I am responsible for the film's bohni!
So what else is happening in Chunky's life?
Pretty interesting days ahead! There is 'I See You'
with Arjun Rampal followed by 'Fool and Final' with a
whole army of actors. Talking of 'I See You' which is
my next release, it is a very interesting character of
Arjun's buddy. We both work in a TV station as anchors
and while he operates from his studio, I am more on
field. How I help him out in his love life with an
invisible woman is the basic crux of my role. It's a
very buddy-buddy kind of characters that the two of us
play and again just like ASMM, I would be seen in a
meaty part from beginning till the end of the film.
Also watch out for some cool music by Vishal Shekhar;
they have come up with some extraordinary stuff.
Actors like Boman Irani and Kirron Kher only add on to
this sharp, quick and fun film.
And how about 'Fool and Final'?
It is one huge film in the true sense, something that
is expected from a Firoz Nadiadwala project. Duniya
bhar ke characters hain film mein and I play a diamond
robber in the film. It is yet another out and out
entertainer with so many people like Sunny Deol,
Shahid Kapoor, Viveik Oberoi, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal
Yadav and so many more. The film has a very lavish
look and I had a ball doing it.
How about your television stint?
'Rocky Mera Naam' anchored by me is also doing quite
well on Filmy Channel and is has fetched an excellent
response so far. The show has hit it off in a big way
and in parties actors have started pulling my leg due
to my countdowns about worst actors/performances and
stuff. They ask me, "Why don't you feature anywhere in
the list?" to which my reply is that "Buddy, I am the
host and hence bound to get some privileges"!
So are you also involved in coming up with the
list?
[Laughs] No no, there is an internal survey that
happens and I am handed over the list to host it,
that's it. Mere kandhe se bandook rakh ke goli chalayi
jaati hai! In fact now we are also coming up with a
DVD of 100 worst actors, 100 worst movies, 100 most
embarrassing moments and what not! Believe me, people
will have so much fun just going through these
countdowns.
Ok, now coming back to your film career, one feels
that after 'Aankhen' which released back to back with
'Lootere', ASMM is the film that has been your
meatiest ever.
Hey, in fact let me tell you an interesting story
about 'Aankhen' too. When 'Lootere' was released, 3
weeks from then 'Kshatriya' was slated to release too.
Between these two films Pahlaj Nihalani [producer of
Aankhen] decided to bring his film too. Though many of
us were apprehensive, he felt he was taking a right
step. Nevertheless when 'Lootere' released, I couldn't
catch it the first day since I was busy shooting
though my mom watched it. So I asked her later if she
liked the film. She said, "Beta, the film was ok, but
the kind of 'seetis' I have heard for'Aankhen' trailer
in the intermission was simply tremendous." This set
the tone for the film's success! The film got so much
of repeat viewing which made it a superhit as days
progressed. Now looking at ASMM, even it is fetching a
lot of repeat audience because now they know at what
points would the characters cross each other's paths
again.
With ASMM giving you so much mileage again, one
can't help but wonder why you chose 'Qayamat' and 'Elaan'
as your comeback films where you didn't have much to
do?
To be honest, I wanted to test waters before I jump
completely into it. There was a commitment with Harry
Baweja and I also believe that my comic scientist act
did hit well with the audience, especially the 'taporis'.
Later Ramu approached me for 'D' and on hearing the
role of a gangster I asked him if he had seen any of
my earlier films. He said he did watch 'Aankhen' and 'Tezaab'
to which I asked if he felt me to be suitable for a
transition to a gangster's role. He answered that he
believed in bringing in some shock in his films and
today I can see how 'D' changed things for me. The
moment I was signed, it was big because the industry
saw someone like Ramu backing me up. Later he repeated
me in 'Darwaza Bandh Rakho' and we all put in so much
of effort. It depressed me so much when the film
didn't work.
So how did ASMM happen?
Mujhe Aftab ko thanks kehna chahiye! [Laughs] Sangeeth
had come to sign him on the sets of 'Darwaza Bandh
Rakho' but he refused the role. Then Sangeeth narrated
me the subject and I jumped on it. Also, I had simply
loved 'Kya Kool Hain Hum' and thought that ASMM would
be another great comedy!
With a career spanning a couple of decades, you
must have seen a lot happening in the industry.
Really a lot! I have seen the 80s, the 90s and now the
00s and witnessed so many new boys and girls coming
in, going out ad sustaining themselves over the period
of time. The overall game is changing in a big way.
Think about it, in our heydays actors like me and
Govinda who were considered in top bracket used to
charge around 10-15 lakhs while even Big B quoted only
20 lakhs. Aaj koyi bhi star 2-2.5 crore se kam nahi
lega. So many corporate houses have come up in film
production which is good too. The way endorsements and
advertisements add on to the revenue is pretty huge
too, something that was unimaginable in early days of
my career.
You seem excited to come a long way.
Yes, indeed I am. I am glad that I am still around
with people around me accepting me wholeheartedly. I
am happy that I have kept myself fit even when I am in
my 40s. Also, there is so much of great work happening
around which means the industry is booming. Now look
at films like 'Pyaar Ke Side Effects' turning onto a
success. It's such a good phenomenon building up.
There is an entire open market waiting to be
happening!
And how does Chunky's market look?
I am getting some good offers that I am negotiating. I
am in talks with Sangeeth Sivan, David Dhawan, Ram
Gopal Verma and Priyadarshan, so hopefully something
would materialize soon there.
And 'Don-2' is not a possibility you are counting
out, right?
[Laughs] Oh, certainly not. I hope I am repeated in
the sequel too, as and when it is made.
|
