Recently, 'Aankhen' fame, Chunky Panday opened up about his side gig in the early days of his career. The actor said that it landed him at funeral, where he would be paid extra for crying!
Shakti Kapoor, Chunky Panday, and Govinda graced the latest episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, bringing with them a wave of nostalgia and tons of laughter. The reunited Aankhen trio had plenty of anecdotes for the audience and viewers at home. Chunky, for instance, opened up about depending on events for extra income when he was in the early stages of his career. Chunky's motto of accepting any and every event that came his way even landed him at a funeral.
Chunky Panday's struggles in Bollywood are far from unknown. However, if there is one thing the actor is known for to this day, it is his grit and determination. When work stopped coming his way, Chunky landed up in Bangladesh to provide for himself and his family. And long before that when he was just starting out in the film industry, he found other unique ways to earn a living.
When the Aankhen actor appeared on the latest episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, he talked about attending events to earn extra income. One day, he unknowingly ended up at a funeral due to his habit of accepting all the requests he got. Chunky narrated:
"When I was starting off as an actor, we had only one source of extra income and that was attending events. I used to have a bag ready, whoever would call me I would take my bag and run — be it wedding, birthday or even Mundan ceremony. One morning, I got a call from an organiser. He asked, 'What are you doing today?' I told him, 'I am just leaving for a shooting.' He asked me where it is and I told him it's in Film City. He then said, ‘Bhai, raaste mein ek chota sa event hai, 10 minute ke liye, aana, paise ache hai.' I said sure. He then asked me, 'If you're coming, wear white clothes and come.' I didn't think much, wore white clothes and landed at the venue."
If that doesn't sound strange enough, wait till you hear the next half of Chunky Panday's story. When the actor made it to the venue, he was confused to see several people standing outside in white clothes. It was once he saw the dead body that it struck him that he was at a funeral. Chunky then recalled his first naive thought as well as an extremely odd request that was made by the deceased person's family. Chunky said:
"I reached and saw there were several people standing outside wearing white clothes. I slowly walked in and people were staring at me. They were whispering between themselves that Chunky Panday has come and I was wondering what is happening. I saw the dead body and I realised I was at a funeral. I was naive and thought that the organiser might have died by the time I reached. I saw the organiser in the corner and called for him. He said, 'Sir, don't worry, your packet (of money) is with me. But the family said that if you would cry, they will give you more money.' This really happened."
Shakti Kapoor, one of Bollywood's most iconic villains, narrated a story about going back to antagonist roles after an unsuccessful attempt at becoming a hero. Chunky interrupted him with an anecdote of his own about Shakti thwarting another actor's attempt to become one of Hindi cinema's most memorable villains. He recalled:
"There was this other actor about to debut as a major villain. Shakti got worried. He sent Rs 50,000 to the actor, asking him not to take up villain roles because he was casting him as a hero. The actor took the Rs 50,000 and stayed home for two years!"
What do you think about Chunky Panday's story about getting paid to attend a funeral?
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