Daya was not progressing in her acting career, so she decided to become director Gyan Sahay’s assistant. He thought that this way he could stay associated with the industry. Later, he starred in various theater productions of Mareez, Popkorn With Parsai, and The Suitable Bride.
Television
While associated with Gyan Sahay, Daya got her first acting assignment in 1991 in the TV show Lene Ke Dene, which aired on Doordarshan. It was a long scene, and she had to act with actor Ravi Baswani. While Baswani is leading, Daya plays the role of a postman’s assistant who goes to deliver letters to Baswani. In that incident, Baswani made the postman sit under the tree and asked him to read it for him. Talking about the same, in an interview, he said,
I first faced the camera in 1991 at Filmistan Studios. At that time there was not much work for actors. Cinema and Doordarshan are the only two mediums. I am a struggling actor, who also assisted TV cameraman Gyan Sahay in a DD show called Lene Ke Dene….Once the role came up and I mustered the strength to approach Gyan Sahay. There was no audition trend back then. That’s when a director has faith and confidence in the actor. Sahay ji knows I also like to act. That’s how I was chosen. I couldn’t sleep one night before and after the shoot. I remember when this episode was about to air, I called everyone in my village to watch it. It came at 8 o’clock in the morning. It’s a different kind of happiness to appear on screen.
Later, he played small roles in various TV shows like Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai and Tehkikaat DD National (1994). In 1997, he played the role of Hotel Union Leader in Episode 43 and Robert in Episode 45 of the comedy TV show Ghar Jamai. In 1998, he appeared in the Zee TV horror series Woh as Chandu’s friend Shiva, Saaya SET as Pandey’s Assistant Editor, and SET’s No.1 Family as Pandey. After that, he made small appearances in various TV shows such as Yeh Duniya Hai Rangeen (1999) as Security Guard Yadav, Shubh Mangal Savadhan (2002), and Sahara One’s Kituu Sabb Jaantii Hai (2007) as Jogi. In 2008, he rose to fame when he portrayed the lead character Shanidev in the Hindu mythology TV series Mahima Shani Dev Ki on Imagine TV. Daya was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series at the Producers Guild Film Awards for Mahima Shanidev Ki in 2012.
Daya Shankar Pandey as Shanidev in Imagine TV’s Hindu mythology TV show Mahima Shani Dev Ki (2008)
Since 2010, Daya has played a recurring role as Inspector Chalu Pandey in Sony SAB’s longest running TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. He is also the creative consultant for the show. In 2018, he was nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Award at the Indian Television Academy Awards for his role in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.
Daya Shankar Pandey as Inspector Chalu Pandey in Sony SAB TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
From 2013 to 2014, he played the recurring role of Surjeet Singh in the StarPlus soap opera Ek Veer Ki Ardaas…Veera. In 2015, he played the negative role of Bilasi Poddar, Vibhor’s uncle, in the soap opera Badii Devrani on &TV. He was nominated for the Telly India Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for his role in Badii Devrani.
Daya Shankar Pandey as Bilasi Poddar in the soap opera Badii Devrani on &TV
Later, he appeared in various TV shows such as Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev (2014), Suryaputra Karn (2015), and Wagle Ki Duniya – Nayi Peedhi Naye Kissey (2022). In 2017, he played the lead role in the drama Bhamashah, a legendary philanthropist, warrior and advisor to Maharana Pratap. The financial support given by him enabled Maharana Pratap to restore his army and regain most of his lost territory.
Daya Shankar Pandey in and as Bhamashah (2017)
In 2022, he debuted as ShyamLal Maurya in the slice-of-life comedy TV series Sab Satrangi on Sony SAB. In 2023, he started playing the role of narrator Pandit Radheshyam in Tulsidham Ke Laddu Gopal on Shemaroo TV.
Daya Shankar Pandey as Pandit Radheshyam in TV show Tulsidham Ke Laddu Gopal (2023)
Movie
Hindi
Daya Shankar Pandey made her Bollywood debut with the thriller Pehla Nasha (1993).
She has a small role in the film along with Paresh Rawal. However, in the final edit, all of his scenes were cut. While talking about her first break, in an interview, she said,
I got my first break in cinema in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film ‘Pehla Nasha’. Ashutosh Gowarikar and we used to meet at Ravi Vaswani’s house. He gave me a small role in the film ‘Pehla Nasha’ so I was very happy that I had a scene with Paresh Rawal. But when I went to watch the movie in the theater after it was released, I saw that all my scenes had been cut. Even in the scene with Paresh Rawal, only my dialogue was heard. I feel very sad.”
Later, he got an opportunity to work in Sai Paranjpye’s romantic film Papeeha (1993) and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Baazi (1995), starring Aamir Khan in the lead role. Daya’s work in Baazi was highly appreciated by Aamir as Daya was cast in another Aamir Khan starrer Ghulam (1998). Aamir Khan had also spoken to director Ram Gopal Varma to name Daya for the character of Pakya in the film Rangeela (1995). Although Daya was finalized for the role initially, she was soon replaced. In an interview, while talking about the disappointing changes, he said,
I thought who would bother Aamir Khan? I was very happy at that moment that my struggle was over. But, in the film industry, nothing is decided until the film is released. Same thing happened with me too. Even after everything was finalized, I didn’t get the role.”
He played the role of a rapist in the action film The Gambler (1995).
A collage of old photos of Daya Shankar Pandey from her early days as an actress
In 2001, he came into limelight with the epic musical sports drama film Lagaan in which he played the role of Goli (tailor), the man who owns the largest piece of land.
Daya Shankar Pandey as Goli in the epic musical sports drama film Lagaan (2001)
After playing small roles as a taxi driver in Aankhen (2002), a school teacher in Makdee (2002), and A Day in Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost (2003), Daya played Sub-Inspector Mangni Ram in the action crime drama Gangaajal (2003).
Daya Shankar Pandey as Sub-Inspector Mangni Ram in the action crime drama film Gangaajal (2003)
He was appreciated for his roles as Mela Ram in Swades (2004) and Daya Shankar in Apaharan (2005).
In 2004, he starred in the Indo-American co-production American Daylight where he played the role of Ashok.
In 2019, he played the role of Hari Ram Pandey in Manish Vatsalya’s Hindi crime film Scotland. The award-winning Indo-UK film is among the 2020 Oscar contenders in the Best Feature Film category. The film tells the story of a father who is frustrated by the failure of the legal system to bring justice to his daughter, a victim of sexual assault. As the story unfolds, he transforms into a relentless revenge seeker determined to take matters into his own hands.
Other notable films under his belt include Ek Ajnabee (2005), Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008), Raajneeti (2010), Chakravyuh (2012), Haseena Parkar (2017), Haseen Dillruba (2021), and Satyameva Jayate 2 (2021) . In 2024, he appeared in the biographical film Main Atal Hoon in which he portrayed the role of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, an Indian politician who believed in integral humanism. He led the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) political party, which later became the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Daya Shankar Pandey as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya in the biopic Main Atal Hoon (2024)
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
