Vinod Khanna’s journey: From humble beginnings, stardom, to living life on his terms

The Beginning

Vinod Khanna had entered the film industry with ‘Man Ka Meet’ (1968). Reports suggest that late veteran actor-filmmaker Sunil Dutt was fascinated with the young man’s dashing looks and personality. Vinod Khanna hailed from Peshawar. Sunil Dutt had launched Vinod Khanna in a negative role in this film, where former's younger brother Som Dutt was playing the lead role. For a long time after this, Khanna was limited to playing either supporting roles or that of a villain, in movies like ‘Purab Aur Paschim’, ‘Sachaa Jhutha’, ‘Aan Milo Sajna’, and ‘Mastana’, in early 70’s.

The turning point, rise to stardom

Vinod Khanna had a solid screen presence, whether his role was positive or negative. With the film ‘Hum Tum Aur Woh’ (1971), he got his first break as the solo lead hero. And it was the success of ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’ that surely marked a turning point in his career. He proved his versatility as a brilliant performer with films like ‘Mere Apne’, ‘Haath Ki Safai’, ‘Achanak’, to name a few. His jodi with megastar Amitabh Bachchan was a superhit one and together, the duo delivered blockbuster films like ‘Khoon Pasina’, ‘Parvarish’ and ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’. Vinod Khanna was slowly reaching the pinnacle of stardom.

Decision to quit films

In the year 1982, at the peak of his career, Vinod Khanna gave everyone a shock when he decided to quit Bollywood. He had decided to follow the path of his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh in Oregon. The actor had called for a press conference and said he had made up his mind to quit films and shift base. He wanted to follow his heart and his wife Geetanjali was also supportive of his decision. He moved to Rajneeshpuram, Osho's commune in the United States, for about five years, cleaned dishes and worked as Osho's gardener. This decision turned out to be the gravest one, for not only it ruined his professional life, but also his personal life. It was said that his prolonged visits to the States and his absence, was a prominent reason for his divorce with first wife Geetanjali.

After long exile, he made a comeback

Almost five years went by, post Vinod Khanna's decision to quit Bollywood. But, as fate would have had it, he came back. The actor started his second innings with late director Mukul S. Anand’s ‘Insaaf’ (1987). His fans welcomed him with open arms. From then, there was no looking back. It was as if he never left. His performances in films like ‘Chandni’, ‘Jurm’, ‘Lekin...’ brought a lot of critical and commercial acclaim for him. After working in many commercial films, the actor turned producer and launched his son Akshaye Khanna in film ‘Himalay Putra’ (1997). He had also played a pivotal part in the film and till date, this remained the only movie where the father-son duo acted together. In the new millennium, he even made his TV debut with Smriti Irani’s serial ‘Mere Apne’ and continued to play character roles in successful films like ‘Deewaanapan’, ‘Kranti’, ‘Dabangg’ series, ‘99’, ‘Players’, and 'Dilwale'.

Entering politics

This was a completely new path for the veteran actor. In year 1997, Vinod Khanna joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was elected from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab in the next year's Lok Sabha poll. He also went on to become the union minister for culture and tourism in July 2002. Six months later, he was moved to the Ministry of external affairs (MEA) as Minister of State. In year 2014 general election he was yet again elected from Gurdaspur constituency. He had earlier lost out the Lok Sabha poll in year 2009.

The legacy remains forever

Vinod Khanna was last seen on big screens, when he played father to Shah Rukh Khan, his adopted son, in the 2015 hit ‘Dilwale’. His style and aura in this film was something his fans loved. Sadly, no one knew that this would turn out to be his last appearance in films. However, his legacy as an entertainer would remain in every fan's hearts, forever. Vinod Khanna is survived by wife Kavita, three sons, Rahul, Akshaye (from his first marriage to Geetanjali) and Sakshi (from his second marriage to Kavita). He also has a daughter named Shraddha.