Danny Denzongpa Biography

Born as Tshering Phintos Denzongpa on 25th March 1948 in Gangtok, Sikkim, he belongs to native Sikkimese-Bhutia descent. Danny Denzongpa has done his schooling from Birla Vidya Mandir and St. Joseph's School in Nainital. Being raised in the family of horse breeding professionals, Danny developed his interest in horse riding, right from his childhood days.

Danny intended to become an army officer, so he joined Indian Army. His efficiency won him 'Best Cadet' Award at West Bengal and then got enrolled in the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. But later on his mother's insistence, he had to withdraw his name from Army College and then joined Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

In FTII, he studied alongside the actress Jaya Bhaduri, who changed his name to simpler sounding "Danny" as his original name was hard to pronounce. Since then, he came to be known as Danny Denzongpa. He started his career with the low-budget movie 'Zaroorat', followed by series of other low budget films. After his cellular performance in 'Lahoo Ke Do Rang', he was considered for lengthy roles in A-grade movies. His first major film was Gulzar's 'Mere Apne' (1971).

Because of his stern personality, Danny was mainly casted in the negative roles. He had given his power-packed performances in 'The Burning Train' as Randhir, 'Andar Baahar' as Shera, 'Aandhi Toofan' as Balbir, 'Bhagwaan Dada' as Gangwaa, 'Hum' as Bakhtawar, 'Ghatak' as Kaatya, 'Krantiveer' as Chatur Singh, 'Pukar' (2000) as Abhrush and in Tamil film 'Enthiran' as Dr. Bohra. His all acts were grandeur, but his character performance of iconic Kancha Cheena in 'Agneepath' (1990) brought dreadful terror to the visualizers. He has been the winner of Filmfare's Best Supporting Actor Award for two consecutive years 1992 and 1993 for 'Sanam Bewafa' and 'Khuda Gawah', respectively. He also holds the experience of working on an international project 'Seven Years In Tibet' alongside Brad Pitt.

With fearsome acting skills, he also owns melodious voice and has sung with three stalwart of Indian music, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle. He has voiced numerous tracks in Nepalese language, which are still considered hits in Nepal.

Denzongpa is the actor, who works on his own terms. He particularly switches off working in March, April and May, as they are the hottest months. Since 2000, he has become more selective in choosing his roles in the movie. Of lately, he was seen in 'Asoka', 'Lajja', '16 December' and 'Boss', to name a few. His upcoming big-budgeted films are 'Jai Ho' and 'Bang Bang'.

Danny is married to Sikkimese princess Gawa Denzongpa. The couple has a son named Rinzing and a daughter named Pema. In 2003, he was honoured with Padma Shree Award for his spectacular film career.