Actor Chunky Panday has often been very vocal about not getting his due in the film industry. And recently, in an interview with Sidharth Kannan, director Rajiv Rai revealed how Chunky Panday lost out on Tridev over money-related issues. During the conversation, Rajiv also called Chunky ‘kanjoos’ (a miser) and money-minded. Chunky is actor Ananya Panday’s father.
Talking about how he considered casting Chunky Panday, after things didn’t work out with Sanjay Dutt, Rajiv said, “Chunky Panday wouldn’t come around for Tridev, he is a very nice guy, but he harrowed me. For some actors, money matters. Chunky was very nice to me. I went to his house 20-25 times, then I got tired. If I had any complaints about him, would I work with him in Vishwatma? Just that he used to haggle for 1-2 lakhs, he wanted to do the film, but then I said no because he wanted more money. He has that nature; he is kanjoos.”
Rajiv also recalled an incident from the shooting of Vishwatma and shared, “During Vishwatma, he would only keep one cigarette with him, I would think it’s the last one, so it’s best left for Chunky. One day, he told me that he only kept one cigarette so that nobody would ask for it. He jokes about himself all the time. That time, due to some issue for very little money, and maybe he was a star those days, the film didn’t happen.”
On the work front, Chunky Panday was last seen in Housefull 5; he will be next seen in Son Of Sardaar 2. Currently, Chunky’s daughter, Ananya Panday, is an established name in the industry. His nephew Ahaan Panday also made his Bollywood debut with Saiyaara this month, and Ahaan’s film has been doing very well at the box office.
