Danny Speaks about Endhiran

Actor Danny Denzongpa was a tough villain to pin down. His phone was off the hook, his office helpful but helpless, and his resident man Friday almost put paid to our hunt by letting us know that Danny sir would be away till mid-October.

But all 'bad' men finally land up in the net, and Danny ended up in ours. So why do you think our Endhiran villain was playing hard to get? Because he'd taken off for trekking in his native hills in the northeast!

Contact established, we start by asking him about Endhiran and working with Rajinikanth. "This is not my first celluloid outing with Rajini garu, but, yes, it's my first Tamil film. I've worked with him in Andha Kanoon, in Bhagwan Dada, and in Hum. Endhiran's been a difficult film, but hats off to Rajini garu for making everything seem so effortless and easy. He's a study in humility and so completely shorn of all pretences. Most of the days, he'd be there before any of us. As Chitti, the robot he plays, his costumes and make-up were quite elaborate and time consuming, but never once did he crib about it. He's unflappable. And, here I was, in a far easier role, but not always so good humoured through it all."

Danny is not sure if there will be anymore Kollywood films for him after this. "It will be long before any film made in India becomes bigger than this in terms of budget, storyline, and scale. I think my Tamil foray begins and ends with this one."

The actor's also all praise for director Shankar. "He's nothing if not a perfectionist. There was one sequence where we had to have a car being driven through a garbage dump. I was sure we could get through the scene by creating a junkyard set, but, no, Shankar was adamant it had to be a real garbage dump. I tried talking him out of it, but he had his way. The stench was so overbearing that for three days after this shoot, I couldn't bring myself to have any food. That's Shankar for you. "

As for his role in Endhiran, Danny shares, "I'm the catalyst for Chitti the robot's decline from a lovely humanoid robot to an evil, vicious entity."

Rewind Danny to the time he'd said no to Sholay. Does he regret that decision? "I said no to Sholay because it was clashing with my dates for Dharmatma. That role went to Amjad Khan and he made history. If I'd done it, it would have established me as the ultimate bad man, and I might not ever have got the slew of positive roles I played and even became famous for. Amjad became a star overnight, and the fame and riches it brought him rubbed off on all of us!" he laughs.

Forty years in Bollywood, is he planning to call it a day?
"I've anyway slowed down and don't take on anything unless it really excites me. I'm not just into acting. I trek, spend many an engaging hour painting, and woodcarving. I'm a good scuba diver too."

Any dream roles? "A realistic movie, maybe. Have you seen Frozen? That's the kind of role that turns me on these days. This movie fetched as many as 20 awards, but it's tragic that, like you, few have heard of it and even fewer have watched it."

- The Times of India