To find one's feet in an unfamiliar ground is an accom­plishment, but to outmatch others in their own field is a rare phenomena. Danny Denzongpa, the Yoksam lad who had gone to Bombay to try his luck in film career did exactly that when he conquered Bollywood with his sheer tenacity, firm determi­nation and inborn talent. Today Danny Denzongpa is an estab­lished and a well-respected actor in Indian Cinema and has made a place for himself among the legends.

MR. TSHERING PHINSTOG DENZONGPA, more popu­larly known as Danny Denzongpa was born at Yuksom in West Sikkim on the 25th February, 1948. He completed his school fmals from Birla School ofNainital in 1964 and grad~ated in B.Sc (Bio­Science) from Government College Darjeeling, West Bengal. He was one of the ten students selected from a host of applicants from all over India to attend the two years course at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune from where he graduated with a Master of Arts (1 st Class) in Dramatics. He also taught at   the Film Institute for two years.

His very first appearance in a motion picture was in the Hindi film entitled 'Mere Apne'. His performance in the film Dhund in 1973 won him instant recognition and critical acclaim. Since then, Padmashree Danny Denzongpa  he has acted in more than 150 films in different languages like Hindi, Bengali and Nepali and is now one of the leading stars of the Bombay film industry, which in itself is a truly larkable acheivement. He has even acted in a Hollywood movie with an international star cast entitled 'Seven years in Tibet' directed by Oscar winner, Jean Jacque. Denzongpa has himself directed a Hindi film, 'Phir Wohi :at', He not only produced the mega-hit television serial, 'Ajnabi', but also wrote the story and co-scripted the:een play.

For his acting talents, Denzongpa has been honoured with innumerable awards by State Governments and ny prestigious organizations. Nominated for the Film Fare Awards on several occasions, he won the prestig­is award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performances in the films 'Sanam Bewafa' and 'Khuda Gava', A versatile actor who is equally comfortable in languages other than Hindi, he was awarded the West gal Critic Award for Best Actor for his role in the Bengali film 'Lal Kuthi'. He also won the Star and Style. Award for Life Time Achievement.

Danny Denzongpa is also a very accomplished and famous singer and composer. He has sung many all­ie hit songs in Nepali, Bengali and Hindi and has to his credit a solo nazam, geet and gazals. He has also :dered playback songs in film with famous artists such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mohd. Rafi and Kishore Kumar.

He has made a major contribution to the industrial growth of the State by establishing a beer manufacturing lpany, Yuksom Breweries at Meili in South Sikkim. He has also established a fully air-conditioned film and vision studio at Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

Denzongpa has been deeply concerned and actively involved with issues concerning the perservation of the Me and traditions of the people ofSikkim. He has been equally supportive of issues relating to the environment ecology.

Danny Denzongpa is a very versatile, talented, multi-faceted, critically acclaimed and accomplished actor singer. He has brought great fame not only on himself but also to the people and the State ofSikkim. He was :erred with the Sikkim with the Sikkim State Award.on August 15, 1999. This year, he is honoured by the emment of India with the prestigious Padmashree