Chunky Panday
Indian actor (born 1962)
title: "Chunky Panday" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1962-births", "indian-male-film-actors", "male-actors-in-hindi-cinema", "male-actors-from-mumbai", "20th-century-indian-male-actors", "21st-century-indian-male-actors", "punjabi-people"] description: "Indian actor (born 1962)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunky_Panday" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Indian actor (born 1962) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Chunky Panday |
| image | Chunky pandey forest success.jpg |
| caption | Panday in 2012 |
| birth_name | Suyash Panday |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Bombay, Maharashtra, India |
| spouse | |
| children | 2; including Ananya |
| occupation | Actor |
| yearsactive | 1987–present |
| father | Sharad Panday |
| family | see Panday family |
| :: |
| name = Chunky Panday | image = Chunky pandey forest success.jpg | caption = Panday in 2012 | birth_name = Suyash Panday | birth_date = | birth_place = Bombay, Maharashtra, India | spouse = | children = 2; including Ananya | occupation = Actor | yearsactive = 1987–present | father = Sharad Panday | relatives = | family = see Panday family
Suyash Panday (born 26 September 1962), better known by his stage name Chunky Panday, is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Hindi-language films.He made his acting debut in 1987 with the film Aag Hi Aag and gained recognition for his supporting role as Babban in Tezaab (1988), which earned him a Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Panday appeared in several successful multi-starrer films, including Paap Ki Duniya, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Vishwatma, Aankhen, and Lootere.
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
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/David_Dhawan_Govinda_Chunky_Pandey_still3.jpg" caption="Panday with David Dhawan and Govinda"] ::
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 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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Bollywood_Actor_Chunky_Pandey_3_by_Creativo_Camaal_of_Lens_Naayak_Photography_Mumbai_India.jpg" caption="Chunky Panday (photographed)"] ::
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
::data[format=table]
| Year | Film | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Inspector Vijay | |
| Paanch Paapi | Raja/Vijay Singh | ||
| 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 | |
| Naaka Bandi | Raja Singh | ||
| Aaj Ke Shahenshah | Saawan | ||
| 1991 | Kohraam | Vijay | |
| Do Matwale | Amar | ||
| Rupaye Dus Karod | Suraj | Playback singer for "Bandh Khidki Hai" | |
| 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 | |
| Lootere | Ali | ||
| Police Wala | Jimmy/CBI Officer Jagmohan | Solo male lead | |
| 1994 | Gopalaa | Major Anand | |
| Insaniyat | Hariharan | ||
| Teesra Kaun? | Vijay Verma | ||
| 1997 | Kaun Rokega Mujhe | Bhola | Solo male lead |
| Bhoot Bhungla | Amar | ||
| Swami Keno Ashami | Shaan/Biplob | Bangladeshi film | |
| 1998 | Meyerao Manush | ||
| Tirchhi Topiwale | Anand | Solo male lead | |
| 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 | Prem Korechhi Besh Korechhi | Bangladeshi film | |
| Phool Aur Patthar | |||
| 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 | TJ | Special appearance | |
| I See You | Akshay 'AK' Kapoor | ||
| 2007 | Fool N Final | Rocky | |
| Om Shanti Om | Himself | Special appearance | |
| 2008 | Hello Darling | Rocky | |
| 2009 | Ek: The Power of One | Balli | |
| Paying Guest | Ronnie | ||
| Sankat City | Sikandar Khan | ||
| Daddy Cool | Harry | ||
| Shortkut | Guru Kapoor | ||
| De Dana Dan | Nonny Chadda | ||
| 2010 | Click | Manu Sharma | |
| Housefull | Aakhri Pasta | ||
| Tees Maar Khan | Himself | Special appearance | |
| 2011 | Rascals | Bhagat Bhulabhai Chouhan | |
| 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/Aakhri Aastha | |
| 2017 | Begum Jaan | Kabir | |
| 2019 | Saaho | Devraj | Simultaneously shot in Telugu |
| Prassthanam | Bajwa Khatri | ||
| Housefull 4 | Aakhri Pasta/Pehla Pasta | ||
| 2020 | Jawaani Jaaneman | Rajender Sharma aka Rocky | |
| Vikun Tak | Abdul Lathif | Marathi film | |
| 2022 | Nayika Devi: The Warrior Queen | Muhammad Ghori | Gujarati film |
| Liger | Pandey | Simultaneously shot in Telugu | |
| Sardar | Maharaj Rathore | Tamil film | |
| 2024 | Vijay 69 | Fali Bathena | |
| 2025 | Saale Aashiq | Jagdish Bhajmodia | |
| Housefull 5 | Aakhri Pasta | ||
| Detective Sherdil | Bodhi Mama | ||
| Son of Sardaar 2 | Danish | ||
| 2026 | Rahu Ketu | Mordechai | |
| :: |
Television series
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Zara Nachke Dikha | Judge | |
| 2010 | Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka | Contestant | Episode 1 |
| 2020 | Abhay Season 2 | Harsh | |
| 2020–present | Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives | Himself | |
| 2022 | Baked Season 3: The Bad Trip | ||
| 2023 | Pop Kaun? | Anthony Gonsalves | |
| 2024 | Industry | Rakesh Raman | |
| 2025 | Griha Laxmi | Kareem Kazi | |
| :: |
Awards and nominations
::data[format=table]
References
References
- (14 October 2015). "Clicked: Chunky Pandey shooting in Lucknow". The Times of India.
- "From arclight to mining light: Chunky Pandey won offshore mining rights, but it was no happy ending". timesofindia-economictimes.
- (23 May 2015). "From arclight to mining light: Chunky Pandey won offshore mining rights, but it was no happy ending". The Economic Times.
- (26 September 2013). "Chunky Pandey's Star-Studded Birthday Bash: SRK, Gauri, Malaika and Others Spotted at Party". International Business Times.
- (28 December 2019). "Chunky Pandey set to make his Marathi film debut". Outlook.
- (27 September 2020). ""When I was 22, I was gatecrashing Bollywood parties," says Chunky Panday". Hindustan Times.
- Pradhan, Bharathi. (26 March 2023). "Fun, family, fondness".
- Khurana, Mallika. (5 December 2024). "Chunky Panday Enjoys Being Known As Ananya Panday's Father And Bhavna Panday's Husband".
- Entertainment Desk. (20 August 2023). ""ETimes BFFs: Did you know Chunky Panday's father performed India's first heart transplant?"".
- Entertainment Desk. (16 October 2025). "Chunky Panday reveals family link to Shah Rukh Khan's debut, Govinda shares heartfelt moments in chat with Kajol and Twinkle Khanna".
- Entertainment Desk. (15 October 2025). "Govinda says he did a film for a dozen bananas and a coconut; Chunky Panday recalls his connection to Raj Kapoor who made Shah Rukh Khan's debut".
- (17 March 2023). "Alanna Panday's wedding: Ananya Panday, father Chunky Panday's dancing video goes viral". The Economic Times.
- "Akshay was huge fan of his once acting instructor Chunky Pandey".
- IANS. (16 June 2010). "Chunky Pandey says happy playing second lead in films". NDTV Movies.
- (26 December 2013). "The Second Life of Chunky Pandey". Open The Magazine.
- (26 December 2013). "The Second Life of Chunky Pandey".
- (25 August 2020). "I Had to Tell Myself I Was No Longer a Hero: Chunky Panday on His Big Bollywood Comeback".
- "Chunky Pandey doesn't want to stick to comedy". The Times of India.
- (9 May 2019). "Bhavna Pandey reveals people were calculating if she conceived Ananya Panday before marriage or after". www.timesnownews.com.
- (9 January 2018). "Inside Paris's 25th Annual le Bal des Débutantes".
- (9 May 2019). "Bhavna Pandey reveals if daughter Ananya was born before or after marriage". Free Press Journal.
- (17 July 2021). "Ananya Panday Twinning With Mom Bhavana And Sister Rysa Is The Cutest Of All Throwbacks". NDTV.
- (20 September 2024). "Have Chunky Panday and Aditya Pancholi converted to Christianity?". The Statesman.
- . (28 October 2024). ["Neelam Kothari says she 'wanted to kill' Chunky Panday on Aag Hi Aag set: 'He used to irritate me'"](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/neelam-kothari-says-she-wanted-to-kill-chunky-panday-on-aag-hi-aag-set-he-used-to-irritate-me-101730118510116.html). *Hindustan Times*.
- "Under Seige:Begind the scenes of Qayamat".
- Verma, R. (26 August 2003). "Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost: utterly avoidable".
- Bhattacharya, Sumit. (3 June 2005). "There's something about Deshu".
- (3 August 2006). "Behind closed doors". Rediff.com.
- (21 March 2016). "Chunky Pandey to play double role in 'Housefull 3'". The Times of India.
- (26 August 2019). "Chunky Panday: Meet "The Opportunist" from Prassthanam". Glamsham.
- (16 March 2022). "Chunky Panday introduced as Muhammad Ghori in Gujarati period drama 'Nayika Devi: The Warrior Queen'". ThePrint.
- Lakshmi, V. (14 June 2022). "Chunky Panday shoots in Baku's parliament building for Karthi's Sardar". The Times of India.
- Jha, Subhash K.. (7 October 2008). "What sore losers men can be: Malaika". Hindustan Times.
- (29 September 2010). "Raaz Pichle Janam Ka returns with more glamour". The Indian Express.
- "Industry on Amazon MiniTV – Plot, cast, trailer, release date and time".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::