Chunky Panday is a Bollywood actor with over 30 years of film and TV appearances.
The majority of his films are in Hindi. He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1987. He also works as a producer and is among the highest-paid Bollywood actors.
He has a net worth of approximately $18 million.
| Name | Suyash Pandey (Chunky Panday) |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth: | September 26th, 1962 (59 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Mumbai, India |
| Height: | 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 meters) |
| Profession: | Actor, producer |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Children: | 2 |
| Parents: | Snehlata Panday (mother), Sharad Panday (father) |
| Net Worth Estimate: | $18 million |
Net Worth
Panday’s exact net worth is not known, but it is estimated to be around $18 million, or six crores in Panday’s native rupees. The majority of Panday’s earnings come from his work as an actor.
He has appeared in many big Bollywood films, including Aag Hi Aag from 1987 and Om Shanti Om. Panday’s first film, Aag Hi Aag, has grossed $145,207 worldwide, and his most successful film is Aankhen from 1993. The film has grossed $176,807 over its lifetime.
Company
Panday has his own events company named ‘Bollywood Electric’. The company is best known for hosting stage shows across India. Panday runs this company along with his daughter. However, its net profit and establishment date are unknown. So, we can assume that this is not Panday’s greatest source of income.
Along with Bollywood Electric, Panday owns a restaurant with his wife. The venue is called ‘The Elbo Room’ and can be found in Khar West, Mumbai.
Panday opened the bar in 2009, and it is well-known for having various exotic cocktails and being a “British-styled Soho pub” in the heart of India.
Some of its iconic dishes include Okonomiyaki, which is a kind of Japanese pancake. The dish is served along with vegetables, chicken, and seafood.
Along with a special barbecue, the bar hosts live music on Tuesday nights, with food cooked outside for guests. The bar’s annual revenue is unknown.
However, the most expensive dish is the ‘Exotic Non-Vegetarian Platter’, for which Panday charges around $24. Also, house prices near the restaurant are high by Indian standards. So, we can estimate that the restaurant is doing fairly well to afford high rent prices.
The pub has not posted on social media since 2020, so it may have closed.
Salary
Like Panday’s net worth, an exact salary figure is unknown. However, it is speculated that he charges approximately $631,000 for a movie appearance. Panday also requests a share in the movie’s profit for any film he stars.
Along with his film appearances, Panday has starred in different brand advertisements. One of these notable endorsements was for Aakhri Pasta, which was named after Panday’s character in the Housefull film franchise.
Panday has also starred in clothing advertisements. For these brand endorsements, Panday charges around $251,000. Panday has hosted shows like ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ due to his talents as a comedic actor.
Real Estate
Panday has multiple assets, including his home. He resides in an open-plan bungalow in the Pali Hill area of Mumbai with his wife, daughter, and son.
His home is in one of the wealthiest areas of Mumbai, alongside Bollywood stars Sairo Bano, Sanjay Dutt, and Amir Khan.
Inside his home, Panday has a garden, an at-home bar, and a large lounge area for the family to hang out together. Panday’s family enjoys gardening, particularly Panday’s daughter, Ananya.
So, there are many flowers inside Panday’s house that help to brighten it up. The bungalow also features a sky terrace for Panday to relax in the Indian summers.
Panday has followed a monochrome design inside the living room with stylish baroque couches alongside an ebony coffee table.
The bungalow has multiple bedrooms featuring oak floors and white walls. The interior also features ceiling-to-floor glass windows, most of which are designed in a minimalistic way.
Panday’s house is frequently a place to celebrate, including a bar.
This area is decorated with velvet stools and a large cabinet containing all the bar amenities. The house price is estimated at $1,265,000. Panday owns other houses in India, although their prices and locations are not known. This house in Pali Hill is his main residence.
Along with his house, Panday also has a collection of luxury cars. These include a Skoda Kodiaq, Range Rover Sports, Hyundai Santa Fe, and a Mercedes Benz E-Class.
The most expensive of these cars is the Mercedes Benz E-Class, valued at 60 Lakhs or $75,908. Previously, Panday owned a Fiat Premier Padmini but sold it later as he began acting.
Early life
Panday was born in Mumbai on September 26th, 1962, to parents Snehlata Panday and Sharad Panday. His father, Sharad, was a famous Indian heart surgeon.
Sharad performed the first heart transplant surgery in India, the sixth operation of its type worldwide. However, Panday went down a different career route from his father by pursuing a career in acting.
Panday has spoken about how his family pressured him to become a doctor, but he failed.
Later, he studied acting at the Daisy Irani Acting School in Mumbai, alongside other famous faces like Salman Khan and Sajid Khan. After this, Panday graduated from the Madhumati Academy of Film Dancing and Acting, specialising in Acting and Dancing.
As a senior at Madhumati Academy, Panday helped train some younger students, including the famous Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.
Before devoting himself to acting, Panday became part of two Indian rock bands. One of these was called ‘Crosswinds’ while the other was a Delhi rock band named ‘Electric Plant.’
Neither band ended up having much success, so Panday decided to focus entirely on movies.
Career
Panday’s first big audition was for Hiba Video Films in 1986. However, he was unfortunately rejected for unknown reasons.
The following year, Panday starred in his first Bollywood film, Aag Hi Aag. The film, which Pahlaj Nihalani produced, was a success and launched Panday’s reputation.
He then starred in other hit Bollyooowd movies, such as ‘Tezaab’ from the same year and ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ in 1988. For Tezaab, Panday received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
However, these films featured Panday in a secondary role, so Panday had yet to star as a lead.
In the 1990s, Panday began taking on a more important role in films, such as ‘Jahoole’ in 1990 and ‘Aankhen’ in 1992. However, many of Panday’s films in this period were commercial failures. ‘Pyar Ka Rog’ from 1994, for example, grossed approximately $22,616.
One of the main reasons for Panday’s failures was the changing Bollywood movie scene. Many actors like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan became typecast as romantic movie leads.
In contrast, other stars like Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty became action movie leads. Additionally, filmmakers began focusing on solo movies instead of all-star casts. Panday struggled to fit into a category, leading him to take whatever role he could.
Eventually, producers began offering Panday secondary roles again, such as the male lead’s brother.
Panday became frustrated and left India to go to Bangladesh. Whilst there, Panday was offered a role in various Bengali movies.
Despite not speaking the language, Panday accepted the roles, which ended up as hits. His voice was dubbed over in each release. These include ‘Shami Keno Asami’ from 1997 and ‘Meyerao Manush’ from 1990.
This boost to Panday’s career inspired him to return to Bollywood during the early 2000s. He continued acting, though he starred as secondary characters in low-budget films.
These included ‘Jwalamukhi’ in 2000 and ‘Qayamat: City Under Threat’ in 2003. He also starred in thrillers like ‘Darwaaza Bandh Rakho’ by the director Ram Gopal Varma.
Soon, Panday made his comeback in Bollywood by starring in hit movies like ‘Om Shanti Om.’
He also starred in‘Fool N Final,’ and ‘Elaan’. In 2007, he received Best Performance in a Comic Role nominations from the Filmfare Awards and the IIFA Awards. These were for his role in ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’.
His most recent famous role was as Aakhri Pasta in the ‘Housefull’ franchise. Panday received a nomination for Best Performance in a Comic role from the IIFA Awards and Best Actor in a Comic Role from Zee Cine Awards for his performance. He has continued to take comedy movies in a supporting role instead of aiming for solo films.
In 2022, Panday made his film debut in the Gujarati film industry with ‘Nayika Devi – The Warrior Queen.’ He is currently filming for ‘Sardar,’ marking his debut in Tamil films.
Career Highlights
- Starred in his first film, ‘Aag Hi Aag’ in 1987
- Continued starring in secondary roles in Bollywood
- Filmfare Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Tezaab
- Faced film failures during the 1990s
- Moved to Bangladesh, began starring in hit Bengali films
- Moved back to India, took small-scaled roles
- Made a comeback in Bollywood film scenes
- Became known for ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ and ‘Housefull’ franchise
Personal Life
As an actor, Panday has been linked to many women over the years. Before becoming famous, Panday was engaged to Dimple Barot, who was a DJ. He was also engaged to another DJ for MTV, Anu Kutoor.
Later, he met Bhavana, a costume designer, in a disco in Delhi. The two hit it off, and she gave him his number. As he had a flight to Mumbai the following day, he did not call her until the following month on his return to Delhi.
The two became an item, and Panday eventually proposed to her. They got married on January 17th, 1998.
Panday’s first daughter, Ananya, was born on October 30th, 1998. His second daughter, Rysa, was born on March 10th 2004. Ananya has followed in her father’s footsteps with a career in acting. The family also owns a pet dog.
Panday’s brother, Chikki, is married to Deanne Panday, a famous Indian wellness coach. His nephew, Ahaan Panday, is a social media star in India.
Sadly, Panday’s father passed away in 2004, and his mother passed away in 2021.
Panday is a Hindu.
Fun Facts
Although Panday’s real name is Suyash, he has spoken about preferring the nickname Chunky. Direct Pahlaj Nihalani gave him the nickname during ‘Aag Hi Aag,’ and Panday chose to use it as his stage name.
Originally, Nihalani was going to give him a traditional name from the Mahabharata, but Panday felt his face was too modern. So, he adopted the name ‘Chunky’ instead.
During filming for ‘Aag Hi Aag,’ Panday had a motorcycle accident which involved him dropping his co-star, Neelam Kothari, from the vehicle. She suffered second-degree burns from the accident but continued working on the film.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan has expressed his gratitude to Panday during his early film career. At this time, Panday provided Khan with financial support and gave him a place to stay. He also helped to connect Khan with important people within the Bollywood industry.
Chunky Panday was kind enough to offer shelter to Shah Rukh Khan in his home during King Khan’s early struggling days in Mumbai.
— Bollywood Facts (@FilmyFacts) September 6, 2016
During Panday’s early film career, he dated several women at once.
When it came to event appearances, Panday opted to take his mother to prevent any of the women from becoming jealous.
Some of Panday’s favourite sports include cycling and swimming.
In 2021, Invertis University in Uttar Pradesh, India, gave Panday an honorary degree in Performing Arts. This was due to his work in the Bollywood film industry. Panday attended the official award ceremony to accept this degree.
Panday said that he would’ve chosen to be a baker if he did not become an actor. Panday enjoys baking in his free time, although he admits needing to use a recipe book.
Panday cannot tie his laces. As a result, he avoids wearing shoes unless they are flip-flops or slip-ons.
Summary
Chunky Panday is one of the most famous stars in the Bollywood film industry. He has starred in over 100 films for over three decades.
After facing a career slump in the ‘90s, Panday began starring in Bengali films and gained success there. He made his comeback in Bollywood during the early 2000s.
His net worth is roughly $18 million.