Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 30, 2020)

In one of his previous chats with Bombay Times, Chunky Pandey had said that Saif Ali Khan and he play flamboyant characters, pretending to be young men, in Nitin Kakkar’s Jawaani Jaaneman. When we met him recently, and asked him to elaborate on it, Chunky told us that he plays a nightclub owner in London, who is close friends with his regular patron, played by Saif.

He added, “We’re playing these sadaa (forever) bachelors, who think it’s best to fly solo and not get tied down. Like young bachelors, we hit on girls. But one night, life turns on its head for Saif ’s character — from a single man, he turns into a father and a to-be grandfather! And then, something goes awry with my character, too, which brings the viewer to the understated message of the film — Ours is not the lifestyle one should ideally follow. We’ve shot at a real nightspot in London, but we would shoot during the day, with fake alcohol and junior artistes. It was like being sent to hell to sin away with no chance to sin.”

When Chunky played the bad guy Devraj in Saaho, which released a few months ago, he had modelled the character on Javier Bardem (Raoul Silva from Daniel Craig’s Skyfall). This time around, his brief was to follow the late editor of Playboy, Hugh Hefner. “Of course, this is a Hindi film, so there are no bunnies and toys!” the actor said, laughing.

The character took him back to his days as a young man. “Those days, I used to hit the nightclubs and be the guy on the floor. I’ve lived this character for years in my life. It’s just that this time, I got paid to relive my bachelorhood. I used to be a mastikhor those days. Also, the party scene was crazy and we didn’t have to bother much. Even as actors, we didn’t have anyone following us crazily everywhere. I feel bad for my children, who have not seen that era of zero social pressure and a life away from mobile phones. Life was less complicated.”

Coincidentally, it was also during those days that he first met Saif. He recalled, “He was a kid back then, but he has come a long way since. I love talking to him. He comes from another planet because no one talks like him, and no one has the kind of perspective he has on numerous subjects. I wait to meet him. His point of view is real, laced with his patent dark humour. He has no pretence. He’s a strong actor, secure and effortless; no matter who he is pitted against, his characters flow out of him. He won’t let you feel it, but he’s sharp and switches off instantly after the take. He doesn’t talk big, does what he wants, and lets you do your thing. That’s confidence, which is rare.”

The actor, who is known to have hosted some of the most flashy parties in the business for years during the 1990s, has today earned the reputation of being quite a kanjoos, which also forms the butt of jokes on comedy shows. Talking about it, he said, “My New Year bash and birthday parties used to be famous and I still acquired the reputation of being a kanjoos. I think I brought it on myself. It’s said that the best way to lose friends is by loaning them money, and I also lost some of my friends like that. So, this reputation of mine keeps loan-seekers away. However, I still host people lavishly at home or elsewhere.”