Meet actor who once worked with Govinda, Madhuri Dixit and other stars, left India after string of flop films, became property dealer to earn living, his name is…

Chunky Panday is one of the most celebrated actors of his time. Over a career spanning more than three decades, Chunky has appeared in numerous hit films. However, this has not always been the case. There was a phase in his life when he faced significant financial difficulties, forcing him to leave India.
Yes, you read that right! There was a time when Chunky Panday had to move to Bangladesh and hustle to make ends meet. In a recent conversation with his daughter Ananya Panday for We Are Yuvaa, Chunky opened up about his struggling days. When Ananya pointed out that Chunky’s career began to decline after the early 90s, she asked him if he ever thought, “Is this the end?” Chunky candidly replied, “Yeah, yeah. The end means it was like musical chairs happening, and when the music stopped, I didn’t have a chair to sit on. I mean, I had blockbuster films, and this was right after Aankhen, which is supposed to be an iconic hit. I actually had no work. The only film I got was Teesra Kaun, and after that, it completely dried up.”
He added, “So I ended up going to Bangladesh and doing movies there. Luckily, those worked, and I kind of made that my home for 4-5 years. But yeah, it was scary. I didn’t stop working, though. I opened an events company, started doing events, and ventured into real estate, buying properties. Imagine going from house to house trying to make things work. I just set my ego aside and told myself I needed to survive. I did all these things, and I learned a lot during that process. I’ve been flat broke, I mean.”
Later, when Ananya asked if Chunky’s parents offered him help during that tough phase of his life, the actor responded, “If you’re a guy and you’ve started your career, you can’t go back to them and say, ‘I need money.’”
Despite the challenges, Chunky Panday has built a diverse and enduring career. Rising to stardom in the 1980s with blockbusters like Tezaab and Aankhen, he later reinvented himself as a character actor in the 2000s, earning widespread praise for his comedic roles in films like Housefull.