Danny Denzongpa is an Indian actor, of Sikkimese Bhutia descent, working in Bollywood films though he has also appeared in several Nepali, Tamil, Bengali & Telugu films as well and is also film director and singer as well. He has acted in around 190 Hindi films since 1971. In 2003, Denzongpa was awarded the Padma Shree, India's fourth highest civilian honour. Denzongpa is noted for his villainous ...Danny Denzongpa is an Indian actor, of Sikkimese Bhutia descent, working in Bollywood films though he has also appeared in several Nepali, Tamil, Bengali & Telugu films as well and is also film director and singer as well. He has acted in around 190 Hindi films since 1971. In 2003, Denzongpa was awarded the Padma Shree, India's fourth highest civilian honour. Denzongpa is noted for his villainous and character roles. Danny's film career spans more than 4 decades. He has also starred in some international projects, the most famous being Seven Years in Tibet where he acted alongside Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.
Danny was born to a Buddhist family in Gangtok, Sikkim (the 22nd state of India since 1975) where he did his schooling from Birla Vidya Mandir, and thereafter completed his college from St Joseph's College, Darjeeling, in 1964. Denzongpa's love of horses and horse riding began at an early age, as his family was into horse breeding. He is also a painter, a writer and a sculptor.
He nursed an ambition to join the Indian Army and won the Best Cadet award from West Bengal and participated in the Republic Day parade. In an interview to The Times of India newspaper, he said that he had qualified for prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune but withdrew admission to join Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He decided to change his name to a simpler sounding "Danny" as his original name was tough to be pronounced by other students. The name has stuck since.
