Unless it’s Big B, Bollywood doesn’t have much for 60-plus actors: Danny Denzongpa

Unless it’s Big B, Bollywood doesn’t have much for 60-plus actors: Danny Denzongpa

FPJ BureauUpdated: Thursday, May 30, 2019, 02:17 PM IST
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Veteran actor Danny Denzongpa, who does not wish to be typecast as a character actor, rues the lack of quality roles for actors who are above 60 years of age saying unless one is Amitabh Bachchan, there’s nothing “substantial”, reports IANS.

“I don’t do much work these days. Actually, I never have. I get a lot of offers from influential corporate houses. But nothing that excites me.

“If I do smaller roles, I’ll be typecast as a ‘character’ actor. An appalling thought! Our cinema has nothing substantial to offer actors above 60 unless it’s Amitabh Bachchan. In recent times, I’ve enjoyed doing Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Baby’. Now, ‘Kabuliwala’.”

The actor is working on an adaptation of the classic Rabindranath Tagore story “Kabuliwala”. Balraj Sahni had done an adaptation in 1961 — but Danny says he’s not in any way trying to equal the intensity of the great actor’s portrayal.

“To equal Balraj Sahni is not even a possibility. He is such a great actor. I’m doing it my own way, hoping I’d make some impact,” said Danny, a brilliant actor from Sikkim best known for his villainous turn in films like “Agneeepath” and “Dhund”.

The emotional heft in the story of “Kabuliwala” left Danny completely moved. When a young director named Dev from the Film and Television Institute Of India came to Danny with the idea of doing “Kabuliwala”, the actor fell in love with the suggestion.

“It is a modern take on the classic. But the basic story of a homesick Afghan dry-fruit seller’s ties with a little girl in Kolkata remains the same,” said the actor, adding that he has played the role with great restraint.

“My interpretation of this Afghan character is much more subdued than what I did as an Afghan in ‘Khuda Gawah’. In fact, I got the role of the Kabuliwala on the basis of ‘Khuda Gawah’,” he said.

Praising the film’s team, he said: “The co-actors are so committed. I am working with am actress from the Northeast, Gitanjali Thapa who is wonderful. I didn’t know she was a National Award winner. As for the director, it is so refreshing to work with a new talent.

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