Every year, many people come to Mumbai to try their luck in the film world. However, not everyone can succeed on the big screen. To make a name in Bollywood, a combination of both luck and hard work is necessary.
Most of the big and successful actors in Bollywood today used to struggle a lot. Many stars came to Mumbai and made their fortunes shine. The story of the famous villain of the 70s and 80s, Danny Denzongpa, was also similar. He came to Mumbai with only Rs 1500 in his pocket to become a Ghazal singer, but fate had something else in store for him, and he became one of the most dreaded villains of Bollywood.
Born as Tshering Phintso Denzongpa in 1948, in Sikkim, the actor was forced to change his name as people had difficulty pronouncing it. It was Amitabh Bachchan's wife and Bollywood veteran superstar Jaya Bachchan who asked him to change his name to Danny Denzongpa so that it was easier for people to remember and pronounce.
Danny Denzongpa had an ambition to join the Indian Army but he withdrew admission from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune to join the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Danny Denzongpa is best known for playing a dreaded villain in many super hit films, but he began his career in a positive light.
Danny Denzongpa first worked in BR Ishara's 'Zaroorat' in 1971 (released in 1972), which was his debut film. But, his breakthrough in the film industry came with Gulzar's 'Mere Apne' (1971), where he had a positive role.
He played a negative role for the first time in the 1973 film 'Dhundh', where he played the role of a cripple and frustrated husband.
From 1984 and through the 1990s, Danny Denzongpa played the lead negative character opposite all superstars of that time including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor, and Sunny Deol.
By the year 1990, before completing 20 years of his career, Danny had done 190 films and was seen in the role of a dreaded villain in almost every film. Many times his excellent acting overshadowed even the lead actor of the film. By playing memorable characters like Kancha Cheena, Bakhtawar, and Khuda Baksh, he succeeded in making a name for himself as one of the most dreaded villains of Bollywood.
In early 2003, Danny Denzongpa decided to take a break from films and appeared in only 10 films between 2003 and 2009. He was last seen making a cameo appearance in Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Uunchai' in 2022.
For his contributions to Indian cinema, Danny Danzongpa, in 2003, was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour from the Government of India.
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