Chunky Panday on juggling funny and negative roles: I am inspired by Shakti Kapoor and Kader Khan

Chunky Panday might be the funny man of Bollywood but down south he is going all evil. The 60-year-old has taken the role of an antagonist in his debut Tamil film titled Sardar, which is streaming on AHA. Ask if people will accept him in the iconic role of Aakhri Pasta again if a new part of the Housefull is made, Panday tells us, “Aakhri Pasta is a very sweet villain. He is the Joker as he is always pulling pranks that can get people into trouble.”

His Tamil flick proved to be a sleeper hit with its theatrical release in Chennai while Saaho (2019) too performed well where he had too taken the role of a villain. Ask if he will get the same love while playing both funny and that of an antagonist, the actor tells us, “I started my career with Shakti Kapoor in a film where he played a deadly villain. And, then you also saw him playing comic roles in films like Raja Babu. Interestingly, I saw the same with Kader Khan. These people have been my inspirations. I have been very inspired by negative characters in my life whether it is a Mogambo or anyone else.” On similar lines, Chunky mentions how the renowned actor Christoph Waltz has always been his inspiration.

Chunky also spilled the beans on his love for bilingual films. The actor tells us how his takes in Telugu in Saaho were better than the ones in Hindi. “When I did Saaho, we used to do two takes- one in Hindi and another in Telugu. I dubbed the film in Hindi but my director used to keep my Telugu takes. And, much to my surprise, my Telugu takes in Saaho were better.”

Ask if movies releasing directly on OTT without a theatrical release is a good thing, Chunky says, “We make films for cinema. When they come on the small screen the impact is not as much as going to a theatre and watching it. I can’t remember any great film I saw on OTT. I only remember seasons. I only watch OTT to watch shows. That is like a slow burn- you enjoy. Shows are made for television and mobile phones. Anything that is made for the big screen, the impact reduces when you put it on other platforms. That being said, OTT has been a great saviour for the industry during covid. OTT was the shot in the arm for the entire industry. But I feel, movies should stay on the big screen.”