Danny Denzongpa treks down the past
By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
September
11,
2007
Danny Denzongpa reigned supreme as baddie in Hindi films till he lost out Gabbar"s role to Amjad Khan. The Sikkimese actor treks down the past...
Danny Denzongpa prefers to be a recluse. He is rarely he spotted at any of the media circuses. He lets his “work to do the talking". He can boast of one of the rarest attributes of a star today - exclusivity ! He"s old-fashioned in the sense that he doesn"t respond to SMSes, but can be contacted via his trusted business manager of years, Madan Arora. In a formal fax, Madanji cautions me that I had better be on time for “Dannyji is a stickler for punctuality". Feeling weighed down by the constraints of formality I tip-toe into Denzongpa"s stylish Brewery office in Andheri, Mumbai. Beaming genially, Danny exudes an old-world charm as he takes his seat “after you"! Chivalrous and courteous, he orders for chai and cookies. The cloud of apprehension clears and then like two long-lost pals, we catch up with his vintage years.
Yoga
Instructor
He
grew
up
in
the
lap
of
Himalayas
in
the
picturesque
state
of
Sikkim.
But
for
his
mother"s
entreaties,
Danny
would
have
been
an
army
officer!
He
had
even
cleared
the
Armed
Forces
Military
College
but
his
mother
dissuaded
him
and
he
ended
up
joining
the
Film&Television
Institute
in
Pune
instead.
His
unconventional
Oriental
looks
had
no
takers
in
the
film
industry.
“They
would
look
at
my
photographs
and
shrug
sympathetically,
urging
me
to
go
back
home
and
seek
good
work.
'This
is
no
place
for
you",
they
would
tell
me," guffaws
Danny
after
a
36-year
successful
stint
in
films.
Those were tough times and Danny even taught Yoga at the film institute to his juniors like Asha Sachdev, Shabana Azmi and Romesh Sharma. “But I never gave up and B R Ishara gave me my first break in Zaroorat," he recalls.
Jaya"s
letter
It
was
in
Screen
that
he
read
about
Gulzar
remaking
the
Bengali
hit
Apan
Jan,
realising
the
tremendous
potential
of
the
youth
film,
he
applied
for
the
role
that
had
already
gone
to
Shatrughan
Sinha.
“My
good
friend,
Jaya
gave
me
a
letter
of
introduction
to
Gulzar
and
I
volunteered
to
play
the
role
of
a
ventriloquist
in
the
film,"
he
reminisces
fondly.
Danny
promptly
located
a
dummy
maker
in
a
Bandra
shanty
and
learnt
the
mechanics
of
the
puppet
that
would
remain
perched
on
his
shoulder
all
through
the
film.
His
dedication
paid
rich
dividends
and
the
film
was
his
first
release
and
a
hit.
However, his fondest memory of the film is that of the legendary Meena Kumari, “She was very sick by then, but was simply exemplary as Nani ma in the film. She would recite her shaayari to us during the breaks," he recalls emotionally.
Path
of
villainy
When
noted
filmmaker,
B.R.
Chopra
awarded
him
the
highest
score
in
his
FTII
examination,
he
also
promised
him
a
role
in
his
film.
But
when
Danny
approached
him
for
the
role
of
the
aging,
crippled,
sadistic
husband
of
Zeenat
Aman
in
Dhund,
he
was
told
that
the
role
was
taken
by
his
friend
Amitabh
Bachchan,
“But
as
luck
would
have
it,
his
Anand
became
a
hit
and
he
wasn"t
keen
on
playing
negative
roles
any
longer.
The
role
went
to
Shatrughan
Sinha
who
didn"t
report
on
time
for
shoot
on
the
very
first
day
and
finally
it
landed
in
my
lap,"
narrates
Danny.
Chopra
wasn"t
convinced.
He
found
Danny
far
too
young
for
the
role.
The
very
next
day,
Danny
donned
the
aged
look
with
the
expert
help
of
veteran
make-up
artiste
Pandhari
Juker.
The
film
was
wrapped
over
a
month-long
spell
in
Mahabaleshwar.
Dhund
also
hit
bulls
eye.
And
quite
unwittingly,
Danny
was
committed
to
a
path
of
on-screen
villainy.
Shashi"s
brother!
Distributors
demanded
that
Danny
be
included
in
all
big-budget
films,
he
was
considered
the
lucky
mascot.
N.N.
Sippy
had
earlier
cast
him
in
Chor
Machaye
Shor
and
approached
him
for
the
role
of
Shashi
Kapoor"s
lost-and-found
brother
in
Fakira.
“I
laughed
at
N.N.
Sippy.
How
absurd
that
a
fair
and
handsome
Punjabi-like
Shashi
to
have
a
chinky-eyed
brother
like
me.
'Won"t
they
question
the
paternity
of
the
brothers?"
I
objected,"
he
recalls
quaking
with
laughter.
But
no
questions
were
raised,
viewers
lapped
up
the
emotional
saga
and
Fakira
was
a
huge
hit!
Director
C
P
Dixit
demanded
that
Danny
cry
copiously
in
the
climax
scene,
but
Danny
objected.
The
melodrama
was
turning
out
to
be
too
much
for
his
FTII
sensibility.
Shashi
used
to
work
in
three
shifts
those
days
and
he
had
no
patience
with
Danny"s
artistic
emotions,
“You
are
being
paid
to
cry,"
he
hollered
at
Danny
and
reluctantly
Danny
dabbed
his
eyes
with
glycerine
and
over-emoted.
“I
went
to
watch
people
snigger
on
the
opening
day
and
to
my
surprise
all
the
women
around
me
were
sniffing
into
their
"kerchiefs
and
I
was
mobbed
after
the
show!
After
that
I
never
asked
any
questions,
I
became
a
lamb
on
the
sets,"
he
says
shaking
his
head.
Hit
parade
Eight
hits
in
a
row
-
Mere
Apne,
Zaroorat,
Chor
Machaye
Shor,
Kalicharan,
Kala
Sona,
Fakira,
Laila
Majnu
and
Dhund
-
Danny
became
the
numero
uno
villain
of
his
times.
His
stint
as
a
top
baddie
continued
unabated.
But
Danny
never
spread
himself
too
thin,
he
worked
on
his
own
terms.
Never
worked
on
Sundays
and
took
an
annual
vacation
during
summer.
“I
insisted
on
shooting
in
cooler
climes
away
from
Mumbai"s
October
heat
and
producers
agreed," he
recalls
with
disbelief.
But
then
success
is
the
operative
word
in
the
film
industry.
Danny
was
riding
the
crest
of
success
but
his
heart
pined
for
the
open
spaces
and
he
was
getting
claustrophobic
in
his
urban
trappings.
“I
really
thought
of
buying
a
helicopter
and
flying
down
to
Mumbai
for
shootings
from
Mahabaleshwar.
But
then
I
stopped
short
and
thought,
next
I
may
want
to
go
and
live
on
the
moon,
there
is
no
end
to
wanting..."reflects
Danny
in
a
typically
Buddhist
manner.
Loss
and
gain
of
Gabbar
Being
the
top
baddie,
Danny
was
the
chosen
one
for
Ramesh
Sippy"s
Sholay,
“But
I
had
already
alloted
my
dates
to
Feroz
Khan
for
Dharmatma
which
was
to
be
shot
in
Afghanistan
and
there
was
no
way
I
could
have
backed
out
of
it,"
informs
Danny
without
a
trace
of
remorse.
Wasn"t Gabbar"s role his biggest professional loss? “No!" he states emphatically,"Amjadbhai became the greatest villain of our times and hiked his fees enormously. He brought dignity and status to character artistes. After Sholay, as the number two, my fees shot up eight times over. I have gained enormously from the loss of Gabbar to Amjad," he reasons.
Solace
in
substance
“I
realised
I
had
become
so
stale
that
I
didn"t
watch
myself
on-screen,"
he
says
by
way
of
self-analysis,
“How
tedious
it
must
be
for
the
audience
then?
I
decided
to
cut
down
on
cliched
work,"
he
muses.
Danny
thumbed
down
run-of-the-mill
roles,
making
way
for
significant
projects
like
Khuda
Gawah
in
the
role
of
Khuda
Baksh,"My
riding
skill
and
Urdu
diction
were
put
to
best
use,"
he
notes
happily.
Over the years, Danny has hand-picked interesting roles in exciting projects like Krantiveer, Asoka, 16 December, Shikar and the latest addition to his tally of films, Frozen, a black-and-white film shot on-location in Ladakh, in which Danny essays the central role of Karma," I have modelled it on my father, I pray just like him in the film, I have borrowed many of his gestures," he elaborates. Frozen will be screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
“Guru Dutt was never a hit filmmaker but his films still play somewhere or the other all over the world and he is immortalised in cinema, that makes me think," he spells out his career strategy thus.
Nirvana
in
a
brewery
Danny
backed
a
school
teacher
for
his
radical
views
during
state
elections
in
Sikkim.
He
won
the
election
hands
down
and
was
appointed
the
Chief
Minister.
“He
summoned
me
to
Gangtok
during
one
of
my
camping
vacations
in
the
Himalayas,
I
had
to
borrow
my
brother"s
suit
to
meet
him
and
then
he
slipped
the
brewery
licence
into
my
pocket,"
relates
he.
Not
realising
the
worth
of
it,
he
was
ready
to
sell
it
off,
but
he
was
alarmed
at
the
market
price
being
offered
for
the
permit.
“I
woke
up
and
put
up
the
brewery,"
he
explains.
Since
then,
he
has
resisted
all
marketing
initiatives
of
putting
his
face
on
the
labels
of
his
brew,
he
is
resentful
of
the
'filmi"
brand
names
that
they
have
given
the
beer
bottles
that
he
sells,
“Imagine
one
of
them
is
called
He
Man
and
another
Jungle
King
and
there
is
one
called
Hit,"
he
jokes.
But now Danny is content, "I just flow with life, I have no ambition, no expectations, no greed," he surmises, adding that he is privileged. His son is still in school and he does evince an interest in films. What Padma Shri Denzongpa longs for these days is a quick game of table tennis with his pal Amitabh Bachchan,"who"s too busy with his work" and the role of legendary Genghis Khan!