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Decades come and go, Danny goes on
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1970s. `80s. `90s. These were the decades when every other potboiler in Bollywood ended with the words `and Danny' in its credits. The same Danny was in Delhi this past week in the run-up to the release of "16 December'', a film on Pakistan's surrender in 1971. ZIYA US SALAM speaks to the articulate, self-proclaimed "shy'' man....
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A VILLAIN WHO SINGS AND CARES: Danny Denzongpa is a multifaceted artiste. Photo: Anu Pushkarna.
I don't watch my own films.
I don't enjoy watching films.
I don't like songs and dances.
I don't think we make good films.
Who is making art films now? Even Shyam Benegal makes films with Karisma Kapoor now-a-days.
I have not done a film which has been truly memorable.
I don't plan, I just follow the heart.
Films are my bread and butter. They have helped me gain money and fame.
I don't feel insecure if I don't sign many films.
I have been in the industry for 30 years. Initially, I looked for perfection in everything but that does not happen. If you are looking for satisfaction here, it is not on.
Initially, people would throw pebbles at me on the streets of Pune in the aftermath of the Indo-China War.
I am shy by nature. I don't like addressing the media. I am meeting the Press after seven-eight years in Delhi. It does not matter to me if the producers or directors promote the hero or the heroine. Ultimately, people judge you by your work.
I know of a place in India where people have not heard of Amitabh Bachchan.
HEARD THAT one? And all that preceding that one? Well, these are Danny Denzongpa's words. A man effortlessly good in bad roles of a badman. And a man who was not quite bad in good roles too. Though the mention of his name only conjures up the image of a villain out to sell his country to `videshi taqatein', a vile zamindar, an unscrupulous politician, a corrupt policemen, Danny, in real life, is a far cry from the image he portrays on the big screen.
He is a painter, a writer, a singer, a sculptor. And a man whose heart beats for the orphans, the needy, the destitute. One day, he would like to do something about the education system of the country and would dearly like to something for the kids of the North-East, specially his home State of Sikkim.
Visibly proud of his origin, he minces no words when he talks of the initial problem he had to face when he landed in Pune's Film Institute, and later, in the big, bad world of Bollywood. "When I was at the Film Institute, people threw pebbles at me in the aftermath of the Indo-China War in the `60s. And in films, my face was a distinct disadvantage. But after I had overcome these problems, there were not many others.'' No attempt at appropriate credit. None to hide the blemishes either.
``Well, we have a problem with the language. When I landed in Bombay, I did not know Urdu. But I taught myself. I would go to the beach. I would talk to the sea, give speeches to the ocean and people around will wonder what's wrong with this strange- looking man! I will record my speech and listen to it over and over again. I would ask my friends who knew Urdu if my pronunciation of the Urdu words was right. Gradually, I got it right. Today, however, people do not believe me when I say that I can only speak Urdu but I can't read the language.''
This ease with Urdu came in handy in films like Sawan Kumar's "Sanam Bewafa'' and Mukul Anand's "Khuda Gawah'' in both of which he took the roles of Pathans, replete with head scarf, moustache and all like ant to sugar.
``Well, I did not intend to join the film industry. My ambition was to join the Army. I was the Best Cadet from West Bengal. I had come to Delhi to participate in the Republic Day parade. I never wanted to be an actor. But then, in the `62 war with China, some soldiers from our village lost their lives. After seeing their bodies my mother started howling and she refused to let me join the Army. Since I was into dramatics and other cultural events in schools, I asked her if I could join films. From thereon, I have been on the road but, frankly, there have not been films which I truly admire. There have been some good films along the way but nothing I can be really happy with or proud of. Initially, I did films which came my way because I needed the money and needed to settle down. By the time, I was through with these films, I had got a certain image.''
``I don't even go to see my films. `Khuda Gawah' was the last film I went to see. That too because Amitabh Bachchan insisted. Recently, however, I have enjoyed Madhur Bhandarkar's `Chandni Bar'. It is a different film. A day or two after watching this film, it makes you think. It is a realistic film. Then `Lagaan' is a good commercial film. It has opened the eyes of the producers and proved that you can make a good film without resorting to vulgarity or compromising on the aesthetics.'' He finds the `50s films "creatively most satisfying''. "Where are films like `Jaagte Raho', `Do Bigah Zameen', `Ganga Jamuna', `Mughal-e-Azam and `Do Aankhen Barah Haath'? I won't even put `Sholay', otherwise a film -- which Danny refused -- in that category.'' Almost reluctantly he points out that the forthcoming "Ab Ke Baras'' marking the debut of Raj Babbar's son will be a better film - "It is nice in patches.'' He echoes something similar about "16 December'' which is hitting the big screen this coming Friday. ''I would not have done the film if the director did not have such a good, tight, ready script. It is a different kind of film. One day, Mani Shankar -- the director -- will make a truly great film. I wanted to be associated with this project.''
Danny, himself -- in constant search of "truly memorable roles'' -- is soon going to produce a couple of films. ''I have a couple of subjects. They are off-beat, risky propositions for films, but I would like to make films on these subjects. But then I don't plan much ahead. I just follow the heart.''
He started his career with positive roles in films like "Mere Apne'' and "Kala Sona'' before vying for the audience's vituperatives in films like "Pyar Jhukta Nahin'', "Khuda Gawah'' and the more recent, "Indian''. "Yes, at the end if the audience claps when the hero bashes up the villain, it is an indirect compliment for me too.''
That he is good at badman roles almost every cinemagoer knows like the story of an average potboiler. What very few people know is that inside this growling, often gory man, is a sensitive heart. A heart that takes him to canvas and brush aside a few cobwebs lost in his own world. Danny loves painting and carving. "Well, I won an award in painting and carving when I was in school in Naini Tal. It is creatively very satisfying. Something you don't find in films. But my paintings are for private collection only, not for commercial purpose. I only show them to a few close friends.''
And Danny, again unknown to many in the younger generation, is an able singer. He has the unique distinction of having sung a song each with Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhonsle. Why did he not take it up as a profession? "Once my songs became a hit every composer will come up with a similar song. I refused to repeat myself. But I have sung folk songs and songs for films in Nepal.''
Also, one day, he would like to open an orphanage in Sikkim. Also, one day, maybe, he would take Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra to Rajouri where villagers have not heard of them! And then maybe, just maybe, he would one day go for a walk in Pune and discover that all the guys from the North-East are being called Danny! "It happened to a friend from Nagaland,'' he discloses, almost self-effacing in revelation. That's Danny. Not quite a badman, one would say.
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