Career

1987-93: Debut and early success

Film producer Pahlaj Nihalani gave Chunky Pandey his first break in 1987, with the multi-starer film Aag Hi Aag opposite Neelam Kothari. The film was a hit. It was followed by another successful film, Paap Ki Duniya with Sunny Deol and Neelam. Subsequently, Pandey appeared in many multi-hero films from 1987 to 1993. In most films, he was cast as the second lead to senior actors like Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt. Some of those hit films are Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Khatron Ke Khiladi (1988), Ghar Ka Chiraag(1989), Zahreelay (1990), Rupaye Dus Karod, Vishwatma (1992) and Aankhen (1993).

In 1988, Pandey was appreciated for his supporting role in N. Chandra's movie Tezaab featuring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. Pandey played the character of Babban, Munna's (Anil Kapoor) friend. For his performance in "Tezaab", Pandey was nominated for the Filmfare Award for the Best Supporting Actor.

1994-2003: Career slump and hiatus

The advent of the 90s saw a new wave of long-lasting actors like Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan taking on roles as "romantic heroes" while Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty grabbed the "action hero" roles. Pandey found it difficult to slot himself in either category. In addition, by the late nineties, solo-hero films were back in vogue instead of the multi-hero films in which Pandey was generally cast.

Chunky grew increasingly tired of playing second fiddle to more prominent actors but had difficulty being seen as marketable outside of supporting household names. "I was offered hero ke bhai ka (brother of the hero) role and some shit," Chunky said. "I (told them), 'Boss, not happening.'"

2003 to present: Return to Bollywood

Chunky Pandey returned to Bollywood in 2003 playing minor supporting roles in Qayamat: City Under Threat, Elaan, and Don: The Chase Begins Again.

In 2005, Pandey was critically acclaimed for his dark role as an underworld gangster in the Ram Gopal Varma film D - Underworld Badshah. Director Ram Gopal Varma was so impressed with Chunky that he roped him in for Darwaaza Bandh Rakho, a dark comedy thriller where he played one of four robbers who hold a family hostage.

Pandey has carved a niche in playing comic relief roles, usually as outlandish characters. This is most notable in his memorable role as the Indo-Italian "Aakhiri Pasta" in the 2010 comedy hit Housefull which was lauded by critics and fans. He reprised his role in the sequel Housefull 2 in 2012 which also was a blockbuster.

Though he has recently been starring a character actor, Chunky doesn't want to be pigeonholed into doing comic roles. "I don't think I am restricting myself to doing only comedy. I am hoping that someone offers me something else," Pandey said. "It requires a lot of guts for someone to cast me in something else. I am just hoping that someone sees something else in me other than comedy."

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Role
1981	Rocky	Bell-ringer student (extra) in song 'Rocky Mera Naam'
1987	Aag Hi Aag	Vijay Singh
1988	Tezaab	Baban
	Gunahon Ka Faisla	Sheru
	Paap Ki Duniya	Inspector Vijay
	Khatron Ke Khiladi	Mahesh Avtar
	Agnee	Babla
1989	Ustad
	Paanch Papi
	Mitti Aur Sona	Vijay Bhushan
	Kasam Vardi Ki
	Ghar Ka Chiraag	Ravi
	Na-Insaafi	Sonu
	Gola Barood	Vigat
	Zakham
1990	Zahreelay	Raju Verma
	Tadap
	Nakabandi	Raja 'Munna' D. Singh
	Khilaaf	Vikram 'Vicky' Veerpratap Singh
	Atishbaaz
	Aaj Ke Shahenshah
1991	Kohraam
	Do Matwale	Amar
	Rupaye Dus Karod	Suraj
	Jeevan Daata	Guddu/Shankar
1992	Parda Hai Parda
	Naseebwaala	Amar
	Kasak
	Vishwatma remake	Akash Bhardwaj
	Khule-Aam	Surya
	Apradhi	Salim/Ravi
1993	Aankhen	Ranjeet (Munnu)
	Lootere	Ali
	Police Wala	Jimmy/CBI Officer Jagmohan Nath
	Aakhri Chetawani
1994	Gopalaa	Major Anand/Gopal 'Gopala' Anand
	Insaniyat	Hariharan
	Bollywood	Ashok
	Teesra Kaun?	Vijay Verma
1997	Kaun Rokega Mujhe
	Bhoot Bhungla	Amar
1998	Tirchhi Topiwale	Anand
1999	Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan	Chali D'Souza
2001	Kasam	Fugitive
2003	Qayamat: City Under Threat	Gopal, a scientist
	Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost	Sanjay
2005	Elaan	Salim
	D	Raghav
	Ssukh	Rakesh Verma
2006	Apna Sapna Money Money	Rana Jang Bahadur
	Darwaaza Bandh Rakho	Raghu
	Don: The Chase Begins Again	T.J (Special Appearance)
	I See You	Akshay 'AK' Kapoor
2007	Fool N Final	Rocky
	Om Shanti Om	As himself - Special Appearance
2008	Hello Darling	Rocky
2009	Ek: The Power of One	Balli
	Paying Guest	Ronnie
	Sankat City	Sikandar Khan (Dual role)
	Daddy Cool	Harry
	Shortkut	Guru Kapoor
	De Dana Dan	Nonny Chadda
2010	Click	Manu Sharma
	Housefull	Akhri Pasta
2010	Tees Maar Khan	Himself
2011	Ready	Special appearance
2011	Rascals	Bhagat Bhulabhai Chouhan(BBC)
2012	Housefull 2	Akhri Pasta
	Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum	Baba 3G
	Hum Hai Raahi Car Ke
2013	Bullett Raja	Lallan Tiwari
	Himmatwala	Michael Jaikishan
2014	Gang of Ghosts	Gulab Chand
	Humshakals	Bijlani
2016	Housefull 3	Aakhri Pasta/Aakhri Aastha
	Badman

Awards and nominations

Year	From	Award	Film	Result
1989	Filmfare Awards	Best Supporting Actor Award	Tezaab	Nominated
2007	Filmfare Awards	Best Performance in a Comic Role	Apna Sapna Money Money	Nominated
	IIFA Awards	Best Performance In A Comic Role		Nominated
2013	IIFA Awards	Best Performance In A Comic Role	Housefull 2	Nominated
	Zee Cine Awards	Best Actor in a Comic Role		Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]