Suyash "Chunky" Panday (born 26 September 1962) is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Hindi-language films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Panday played action-oriented roles in ensemble films before transitioning to comedy roles in the 2000s and beyond. He starred in the film Tezaab which earned him the nomination of Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Early life
Chunky Panday was born as Suyash Panday on 26 September 1962 in Bombay, to Sharad Panday (1934–2004), a heart surgeon known for the 'Panday shunt' workaround for mitral valve replacement, and Snehlata Panday (1936–2011), a physician. Sharad performed India's first heart transplant.
Snehlata was a gynaecologist who opened a beauty parlour and a clinic for slimming during the 1980s, one of the first of its kind in India, some of her celebrity patients including Bollywood stars Rekha and Vinod Khanna, also authoring books and articles on the subject of weight loss. Snehlata was of Punjabi descent. She was born Snehlata Kapoor in Rawalpindi (now Punjab, Pakistan) before partition. Lt. Col. Raj Kumar Kapoor, a retired Indian Army officer turned character actor, who had launched Shah Rukh Khan with the television series Fauji (1989), was his maternal uncle.
He has one younger brother Chikki Panday, a businessman married to wellness coach, Deanne Panday.
Before entering films, he was in the same acting school as Akshay Kumar, serving as his acting instructor.
Career 1987–1993: Debut and early success
He made his acting debut in 1987 with the film Panday debuted his acting career with the 1987 multi-starer film Aag Hi Aag opposite Neelam Kothari and gained recognition for his supporting role as Babban in Tezaab (1988), which earned him a Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 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 Kothari. 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. For his performance in Tezaab, Panday was nominated for the Filmfare Award for 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. 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, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Govinda continued as more versatile 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.
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.'" 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. 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–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 "Aakhri 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, Housefull 4 in 2019 and Housefull 5 in 2025.
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.
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."
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 (née Khosla) in January 1998. They have two daughters, Ananya, an actress, and Rysa.
Filmography
Films Year Film Role(s) Notes1987Aag Hi AagVijay Singh1988Paap Ki DuniyaInspector VijayGunahon Ka FaislaSherooKhatron Ke KhiladiMaheshTezaabBabbanAgneeBabla1989UstaadInspector VijayPaanch PaapiRaja/Vijay SinghMitti Aur SonaVijay BhushanKasam Vardi KeeAjay SinghGhar Ka ChiraagRaviNa-InsaafiSonuGola BaroodVijayZakhamVijay1990ZahreelayRaju VermaNaaka BandiRaja SinghAaj Ke ShahenshahSaawan1991KohraamVijayDo MatwaleAmarRupaye Dus KarodSurajPlayback singer for "Bandh Khidki Hai"KhilaafVikram 'Vicky' Veerpratap SinghJeevan DaataShankar1992Parda Hai PardaVijaySone Ki LankaRohitNaseebwaalaAmarKasakSurajVishwatmaAkash BhardwajKhule-AamSuryaApradhiSalim/Ravi1993AankhenRanjeetLootereAliPolice WalaJimmy/CBI Officer JagmohanSolo male lead1994GopalaaMajor AnandInsaniyatHariharanTeesra Kaun?Vijay Verma1997Kaun Rokega MujheBholaSolo male leadBhoot BhunglaAmarSwami Keno AshamiShaan/BiplobBangladeshi film1998Meyerao ManushTirchhi TopiwaleAnandSolo male lead1999Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri JaanChali D'Souza2000JwalamukhiPolice inspector Bhola2001KasamFugitive2003Qayamat: City Under ThreatGopalMumbai Se Aaya Mera DostAjay Singh2004 Prem Korechhi Besh Korechhi Bangladeshi filmPhool Aur Patthar2005ElaanSalimDRaghavSsukhRakesh Verma2006Apna Sapna Money MoneyRana Jang BahadurDarwaaza Bandh RakhoRaghuDon: The Chase Begins AgainTJ Special appearance I See YouAkshay 'AK' Kapoor2007Fool N FinalRockyOm Shanti OmHimself Special appearance 2008Hello DarlingRocky2009Ek: The Power of OneBalliPaying GuestRonnieSankat CitySikandar Khan Daddy CoolHarryShortkutGuru KapoorDe Dana DanNonny Chadda2010ClickManu SharmaHousefullAakhri PastaTees Maar KhanHimselfSpecial appearance 2011RascalsBhagat Bhulabhai Chouhan2012Housefull 2Aakhri PastaKyaa Super Kool Hain HumBaba 3GHum Hai Raahi Car KeKhukhri Thapa / Paaji2013Bullett RajaLallan TiwariHimmatwalaMichael Jaikishan2014Gang of GhostsGulab ChandHumshakalsBijlani2016Housefull 3Aakhri Pasta/Aakhri Aastha2017Begum JaanKabir2019SaahoDevraj Simultaneously shot in TeluguPrassthanamBajwa KhatriHousefull 4Aakhri Pasta/Pehla Pasta2020Jawaani JaanemanRajender Sharma aka RockyVikun TakAbdul LathifMarathi film2022Nayika Devi: The Warrior QueenMuhammad GhoriGujarati film LigerPandey Simultaneously shot in TeluguSardar Maharaj RathoreTamil film 2024 Vijay 69Fali Bathena2025Saale AashiqJagdish BhajmodiaHousefull 5Aakhri PastaDetective SherdilBodhi MamaSon of Sardaar 2Danish 2026Rahu KetuMordechai Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai Dr. GulatiBaby Do Die Do
Television series Year Title Role Notes2008Zara Nachke DikhaJudge2010Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka ContestantEpisode 12020Abhay Season 2Harsh2020–presentFabulous Lives of Bollywood WivesHimself 2022 Baked Season 3: The Bad Trip 2023 Pop Kaun? Anthony Gonsalves2024IndustryRakesh Raman2025Griha LaxmiKareem Kazi
Awards and nominations YearFromAwardFilmResult1989Filmfare AwardsBest Supporting ActorTezaab2007Best Performance in a Comic RoleApna Sapna Money MoneyIIFA AwardsBest Performance in a Comic Role2013Housefull 2Zee Cine AwardsBest Actor in a Comic Role2021Invertis UniversityHonorary Doctorate
References
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