As Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor starrer ‘Saaho’ completes seven years of its release, Chunky Panday looks back at the action thriller and his experience of playing the menacing Devraj aka Deva, a character that required him to undergo a dramatic physical transformation. In an exclusive conversation, the actor opened up about why he agreed to play the negative role, working with Prabhas after ‘Baahubali‘, shooting extensively in Hyderabad, and the one scene that genuinely disturbed him.Panday recalls that director Sujeeth initially surprised him by wanting to cast him as the main villain opposite Prabhas, who was riding high on the success of ‘Baahubali’. The actor assumed the filmmaker had seen his popular comedy ‘Aankhen’, but Sujeeth had a very different reference point.“I remember when I signed ‘Saaho’, the director had come to meet me. And the only film he had seen of mine was ‘Aankhen’. So I said, Wow, you’ve seen ‘Aankhen’; you want to cast me as the main villain of your film? And that even opposite Prabhas, who’s coming after ‘Baahubali’. So he said, no, I saw another film of yours called ‘Begum Jaan’.”“He says you were very scary in that. So I think you’ll do a great job in my film.”
Chunky Panday went unrecognized in ‘Saaho’
For the character, Panday grew a white beard and had his hair completely buzzed off. The director was clear that he did not want the audience to immediately recognize the actor behind the villain.“So there we went. I grew my beard, a white beard. And then, you know, he buzzed my hair completely. And he says, I don’t want people to know this is Chunky Pandey. And I said, Are you sure? And he said, “Yep.” And there I was.”The transformation worked so well that some viewers only realized they had been watching Chunky Panday after the film ended.“In fact, I was; you know, after the movie, there were a lot of people who called me after the film who realized it was me when the film got over. So I think for me, that’s the biggest victory for an actor. Where people can actually go into a film and watch it and not realize that you’re actually watching this actor.” ‘My wife always said I was a villain.’While Panday has been known for his comic timing and easy-going personality, ‘Saaho’ was another opportunity for him to explore darker characters. Asked what drew him towards playing negative roles, the actor had a typically humorous answer.“See, my wife always said I was a villain. Every wife says, “You’re a real-life villain.” When there’s a fight. I wanted to prove her right.”Panday has since explored several shades of gray and outright negative characters, including his role in ‘Begum Jaan’, ‘Saaho’, the Tamil film ‘Sardar’, and the second season of Kunal Kemmu’s ‘Abhay’.“I played a couple of villain characters. I played ‘Begum Jaan’ and I played ‘Saho’. Then I did a very big hit Tamil film. The sequel is releasing next week.”Talking about ‘Sardar’, he adds, “That was a hit film. There again I played; there was a lot of variation. Because I played from the age of 25 to 75.”He also remembers his particularly unusual character in ‘Abhay 2’: “I played a villain, a very crazy villain. In a show of Kunal Khemu, which he did. God, It was a very nice show.”“In the second season where I played this crazy character. Who eats the brains of little children. Because he wants to become intelligent. So yeah, I played this crazy. It took us two years to do that film.”Playing Devraj came with its own set of challenges, particularly because ‘Saaho’ was shot as a bilingual film. Panday had to deliver his lines in Telugu, while the team also shot Hindi portions.“You know the challenging part was. It must have been mentally as well. You know, it was. I mean, of course, you know mouthing the Telugu lines.”“But you’ll be surprised. A lot, for a lot of the Hindi takes also. He kept my Telugu takes. And made me dub over the Telugu take. So it was bilingual. We used to shoot it in Hindi. And then we used to shoot it in Telugu.”Once he became comfortable with the process, Panday found himself slipping naturally into the character.“But you know, then once I got into the flow. I kind of got used to this. You know the whole atmosphere. Shooting in Hyderabad. You know in the film city in Hyderabad. All the sets created out there. I actually got into this character very easily.”“I was surprised. And it took us two years to do that film. So I kept going in and out of that look. It was quite crazy.”
Saaho forced Chunky to wear a wig in ‘Housefull 4’
The drastic look for Saaho even created a continuity challenge when Panday moved on to Housefull 4.“In fact, I remember once I was just finishing the film. And then I had to start ‘Housefull 4’. And my hair had not grown back. Because it was. And Vasta has very long hair.” “So in Housefull 4 I had to wear a wig.,” he revealed.When asked whether ‘Saaho’ was the reason, he confirmed, “I had to wear it because of. This movie. Because of ‘Saaho’.”
The ‘Saaho’ scene that disturbed Chunky Panday
Despite the scale of the film, it was one particular scene that stayed with Panday long after filming. He recalls the moment when his character attacks his own father, played by Tinu Anand.“You know that portion in Saaho. Where I choke my father at the conference table. I grab his neck. And start choking. Tinu Anand. That was something. That even disturbed me when I did it.”The scene, according to Panday, was an indication of just how dark his character could get.
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Meeting Prabhas after ‘Baahubali’
Working with Prabhas was another major highlight for Panday. Saaho came at a time when the actor had become a pan-India phenomenon following the enormous success of ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’.“He’s always been larger than life. I mean after ‘Baahubali’. And this was after ‘Baahubali 2’. So he had gone to another level altogether. And I was super excited to meet him. When I met him the first time. I met him like a fan literally.”But Panday says Prabhas quickly made him feel at ease and his hospitality was unforgettable.“And he said he has watched so many of my movies. But I’ll tell you he was such a fantastic host. Every time I went and shot for the film, I used to put 2 kilos and come back. Because he used to get all food cooked from his home.”“And he used to get this really great Andhra food. And we used to pig out. One day I remember I ate so much. I had to go to sleep after lunch.”“So yeah. It’s been like that. He was a great host. I really enjoyed filming with him.”For Panday, ‘Saaho’ was also significant because it marked one of his major outings in the South Indian film industry. The scale of the project made the experience even more memorable.“There was Shraddha in the film. There was Tinu. And you know it was. This was something I never attempted. I had not done anything in the south. Then I get to do the biggest film in the south.”Shooting in Hyderabad also gave him a chance to meet several familiar faces from the Hindi film industry who were working on other projects in the city.“I mean, of course. When we were shooting out there. In Hyderabad. At the film city. There were so many other Hindi speakers. Projects going on. So I used to keep going on to different sets. And meeting people. And it was so strange.”Despite being away from Mumbai, Panday says the ‘Saaho’ team made him feel completely at home.“But I will tell you. The unit made me feel absolutely at home. I loved it. I used to wait to go back to shoot for ‘Saaho’. Because they used to thoroughly pamper me.”For the actor, the scale and technical ambition of ‘Saaho’ also offered a new learning experience.“And it was great work. Because it was the first time I had seen it. So much green screen being used. And special effects. And grand sets. And the director himself was quite a visionary. So I really enjoyed it. Young director he is. It was fun.”