May 242018
 

The audiences, Denzongpa believes, are more diverse now and want to see characters from real life

Danny Denzongpa
Danny Denzongpa

He has the restless soul of a nomad and calls himself aloof but Danny Denzongpa, the unlikely star of India’s glamour industry, finds a sense of belonging not just in his serene homeland Sikkim but also in bustling Bollywood. With one foot in Sikkim, where he runs a successful brewery, and another in Bollywood, Danny has been a Hindi film regular since 1971, averaging a film a year even now when he is 70. 

Danny Denzongpa, who is getting ready for the release of ‘Bioscopewala’ where he plays the title role, says the key to a rich and fulfilling life lies in staying aloof from the “filmy” aspect of the industry. “I’m like an alien in the film industry. I have come from a far off place, Sikkim. Despite being in the industry, I have never been a ‘filmy’ kind of person. I have been aloof. I just do my job,” Danny told PTI in a phone interview. 

The iconic villain of many a film who went on to play a variety of roles shares a deep connect with his birthplace in Sikkim and loves to spend time on his farmhouse when he is not shooting a film. “Monotony is something that disturbs me. I try to diversify by painting, carving, singing and writing. That keeps one alive. I never plan things. Whenever I have felt like I should stop acting, I have done that. That could be the reason I survived for so long,” he said.

Danny believes his birthplace and his upbringing have a lot to do with his ease of being, and keeping him detached from the trappings of glamour. Born in West Sikkim’s Yuksom village, Danny describes his home state as a magical place full of hills, forest and meadows. “My village is the last village after which there is no house only a forest, which leads to a beautiful meadow, perfect for longs walks. I have named my brewery after Yuksom and my Mumbai home is named after the meadow, Dzongri.”

The actor says he is still surprised by his journey in films from one of the remotest places in India but it has helped him keep things in perspective. “I remember, it used to take two days of walking to catch a bus to my school hostel. We would either travel on foot or on horseback in those days. I have seen all that. I tell my son that when I came to Mumbai from the Pune Film Institute, I had Rs 1,500 in my pocket and if today, I lost everything, my shoes would still cost more than the money I came with. I credit my parents and teachers for my upbringing and Buddhism. People call it a religion today but it is really a philosophy. I try to find peace in my work. I never rush into things.”

A still from Bioscopewala, featuring Danny Denzongpa in the lead
A still from Bioscopewala, featuring Danny Denzongpa in the lead

The actor says he is surprised that people embraced him despite his different looks, language and religion. “When I came here, my face was different, my language and my religion were different but they accepted me. I have played Shashi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha’s brother. I myself was not convinced in the beginning when producers came with these roles. I would tell them ‘How can I look like their brother? Don’t cast me, your film will not work’.”

The actor, still known for his portrayal as a sadistic husband in “Dhund” and the cruel Kancha Cheena from “Agneepath”, says his sensibilities are more aligned towards realistic cinema. That’s what attracted him to “Bioscopewala”, an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s classic short story “Kabuliwala”. The film, directed by Deb Medhekar, releases this Friday.

He believes the beautiful portrayal of the loneliness of the migrant and his bond with a little girl in Kolkata city, who reminds him of his daughter in Afghanistan, is behind the timelessness of the story. “Though there are changes from the original story, the soul of the story is intact and that’s what attracted me to this film. They have changed the time period and have set it in the early ’80s and I have become a bioscopewala instead of the dry fruit seller that Tagore wrote about,” says the actor.

Danny says he only accepts roles that interest him now. “In the industry, people know everyone’s temperament and I believe in being honest rather than keeping people waiting. If I don’t like the script, I tell them, ‘I’m so sorry, the script is not good’. If I know the person, I tell them, ‘Yaar, please don’t make it’.”

Besides acting, Denzongpa also directed the 1980 film “Phir Wahi Raat”. If the mood dictates, he says he might just find himself behind the camera again. The space for the larger than life villain has shrunk with realism making an entry into the commercial arena. “The cinema of ’70s and ’80s was about action and revenge. For a script like that, you needed a strong villain and a strong hero. When we started, it was the era of romantic and family films but with the rise of Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan), came the phase of action films, which lasted for almost three decades and then it changed again in ’90s with Salman and Shah Rukh as romantic heroes.”

The audiences, Danny believes, are more diverse now and want to see characters from real life. “What used to worry me and still does is that our quality is still not great. We are the largest film industry in the world and make over 1,200 films but there should be at least one film that earns name and fame globally. This is still not happening. But the time is right for that to happen.”

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

May 232018
 

Afghan embassy was told that as long as the film did not hurt political sentiments, a viewing could be arranged

Danny Denzonga
Danny Denzonga

Yesterday, Bioscopewala director Deb Medhekar was surprised to receive a call from the Afghan embassy in New Delhi. As mid- day had reported, the filmmaker is keen to showcase the Danny Denzonga-starrer in Afghanistan as it is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s classic tale, Kabuliwala. He was told that as long as the film did not hurt political sentiments, a viewing could be arranged. Kabuliwala will now actually get a chance to go home.

Medhekar’s interest in the country stems from the plot of his film, based on Rabindranath Tagore’s classic tale, Kabuliwala. The short’s adaptation, featuring Danny Denzongpa and Geetanjali Thapa, revolves around a dry fruit seller from Kabul, who comes to India to sell his wares. He befriends a young girl, who reminds him of his daughter living in Kabul.

In his letter written to Dr Shaida Abdali, Afghanistan ambassador to India, Medhekar has urged for the facilitation of a screening in the country. While he is uncertain of getting permission for a theatrical release, he is hopeful his film will screen in schools, colleges or other public platforms.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

May 172018
 

Director Deb Medhekar, who adapted short story, hopeful that film Bioscopewala will get the nod to release in Afghanistan, the hometown of his protagonist

Danny Denzongpa in Bioscopewala
Danny Denzongpa in Bioscopewala

Even though Bollywood ventures are a big draw in Afghanistan – with many residents having picked up the language by bingeing on Hindi films aired on their TV sets – tense political climates have led to the closure of several theatres in the area. Inevitably, Hindi ventures are only infrequently aired in Afghanistan theatres. Writer-director Deb Medhekar, however, hopes his upcoming film, Bioscopewala, is among those that gets a nod for a cinematic outing.

Medhekar’s interest in the country stems from the plot of his film, based on Rabindranath Tagore’s classic tale, Kabuliwala. The short’s adaptation, featuring Danny Denzongpa and Geetanjali Thapa, revolves around a dry fruit seller from Kabul, who comes to India to sell his wares. He befriends a young girl, who reminds him of his daughter living in Kabul.

Deb Medhekar
Deb Medhekar

In his letter written to Dr Shaida Abdali, Afghanistan ambassador to India, Medhekar has urged for the facilitation of a screening in the country. While he is uncertain of getting permission for a theatrical release, he is hopeful his film will screen in schools, colleges or other public platforms.

The director tells mid-day, “While making the film, I hoped that, someday, it would screen in Afghanistan. The film traces the roots of the Bioscopewala back to his home country. I thought it would be befitting to screen it there. I’m keenly awaiting a positive response. It would give me satisfaction, [a belief] that, in the end, the Bioscopewala does find his way back home.” He says his letter states that Afghanistan has been portrayed in a positive light in the film.

In the past, several Hindi films have been shot in Afghanistan, including Feroz Khan’s Dharmatma (1975) – which also starred Denzongpa – Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi-starrer Khuda Gawah (1992) and Kabir Khan’s Kabul Express (2006) among others.

Also read: Danny Denzongpa: I howled in the theatre when I first saw the film Kabuliwala

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Jan 222018
 

Buddies Danny Denzongpa, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Jeetendra, Paintal and Ranjeet got together over the weekend

Danny Denzongpa, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Jeetendra, Paintal and Ranjeet
Danny Denzongpa, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Jeetendra, Paintal and Ranjeet

Buddies Danny Denzongpa, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Jeetendra, Paintal and Ranjeet got together over the weekend. Kapoor shared a picture on Twitter and wrote, “What an evening of reminiscing. Thank you all (sic).” The stars of the 1970s were meeting after ages and had lots to catch up on.

Reunion of old friends. Danny Denzongpa, Prem Chopra,Jeetendra,Paintal, Rishi,Ranjeet. What an evening of reminiscing. Thank you all. pic.twitter.com/nkljKRNQgM

— Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap)
January 21, 2018

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here.

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go

Let’s block ads! (Why?)