Born on September 26, 1962, Chunky Panday's real name is Suyash Pandey. "People think my name is Chandrakant or Chandratma, from which I have shortened it to Chunky. However, my real name is Suyash Pandey," said the actor, who was called Suyash only by his school friends. The name, Suyash, was given to Chunky by his grandfather; but because the actor was a chubby kid, Chunky became his nickname.

However, he prefers to be called Chunky. "It is unfortunate that your name and nickname, which stay with you all through your lifetime, are not chosen by you! Between Suyash and Chunky, I prefer Chunky. When Pahlaj Nihalani was launching me with Aag Hi Aag in 1987, he had launched Govinda the year before and he also wanted to give me a name from the Ramayana or Mahabharata. But I felt that it wouldn't suit me because my face is modern. Pahlaj didn't even know the meaning of Chunky but his kids freaked out on the name as it was easy to pronounce. Luckily, I got to retain my nickname," recalled Panday

Another lesser-known fact about Chunky Panday is that the actor has a huge interest in the constellations. "If I wasn't an actor I would definitely be an astronaut. I was very curious as a child. In fact, I even believed that I didn't belong to planet Earth. The Milky Way, the planets and their orbits fascinate me no end. I often dragged my parents to the planetarium and would often go stargazing in the nights," said Chunky.

One more fact about Chunky Panday that you probably may not know is that the actor is an avid swimmer. On days when he is not shooting, he swims for over an hour each day. No wonder that at age 58 the actor looks so fit. "I swim about a kilometre and a half everyday and if I get the chance I try and cycle. I walk a lot," said Chunky.

Do you know why Chunky Panday avoids wearing shoes? Well, the actor had confessed once that he can't tie or untie his laces! "So, I avoid wearing sneakers or boots too often, as it's embarrassing to get my laces done by others. I have a few pointed toe shoes in my closet. But I simply love flip flops as they come in a variety of colours (laughs out loud)," said the actor.

Did you know Chunky Panday was Akshay Kumar's acting instructor, nearly three decades ago? "The place where Chunky Panday sahab used to learn acting, he used to be my senior there. When I used to go there as a junior, we used to look up to him and we used to wait for the moment when he would come. His film 'Aag Hi Aag' (1987) had released, which was a super-duper hit. I used to be a huge fan of Chunky Panday," Akshay Kumar had revealed this fact during a promotional event of Housefull 3.

After cementing his position in Bollywood with films like Tezaab, Aag Hi Aag and Aankhen, Chunky stopped getting work and then moved to star in Bangladeshi films for a few years, only to return with memorable roles in the Housefull series, Begum Jaan, Saaho. Filmmakers Harry Baweja, Subhash Ghai and Sajid Nadiadwala helped him restart his career in Hindi cinema.\

On the personal front, Chunky Panday got married to Bhavana Khosla in January 1998 and the couple became parents in October 1998. They were blessed with a baby girl, whom they named Ananya. "Ananya is literally a honeymoon baby. We were married in January 1998, and she was born in October. People were actually calculating if I conceived her before or after marriage. We still had to discover each other and then we had this beautiful baby. She has been with us from our first anniversary," Bhavana Pandey had once told in an interview.Chunky Panday and Bhavana welcomed their second child - daughter Rysa in 2005. While Chunky's elder daughter has already made a name in Bollywood, Rysa is still studying in school.

Chunky Panday is living quite a happy life, both on the personal and professional front, we must say! Here's wishing a very happy birthday to the 'always a-joking' actor Chunky Panday!