Vinod Khanna

Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awards. Khanna was one of the highest-paid stars of his times, along with Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. He gave competition to Amitabh Bachchan's box office run in late 1970s to early 1980s before taking break from films. After joining politics, he became the MP from the Gurdaspur constituency between 1998–2009 and 2014–2017. In July 2002, Khanna became the minister for Culture and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. Six months later, he became the Minister of State for External Affairs.

Khanna made his film debut in 1968, and initially acted in supporting and antagonistic roles; as an angry young man in the movie ''Mere Apne'', as the main villain in the highly successful crime drama ''Mera Gaon Mera Desh,'' and as the military officer turned fugitive in the critically acclaimed movie '' Achanak'', which was a film based on the events of ''K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra''. Khanna played lead roles in many films and is best remembered for his performances in ''Kuchhe Dhaage'', '' Gaddaar'', ''Imtihaan'', ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'', '' Inkaar'', ''Amar Akbar Anthony'', ''Rajput'', ''The Burning Train'', '' Qurbani'', ''Kudrat'', '' Parvarish'', ''Khoon Pasina'', ''Dayavan'', '' Chandni'' and '' Jurm''.

In 1982, at the peak of his film career, Khanna temporarily took a break from the film industry to follow his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh. After a 5-year hiatus, he returned to the Hindi film industry with two hit films – '' Insaaf'' and ''Satyamev Jayate''. In his later film career, Khanna played several memorable roles as a father in blockbuster movies such as '' Wanted'' (2009), ''Dabangg'' (2010) and ''Dabangg 2'' (2012).

Khanna has been posthumously awarded India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2018 by the Government of India at 65th National Film Awards.

Early life

Khanna was born in a Punjabi Hindu family to Kamla and Krishanchand Khanna on 6 October 1946, in Peshawar, British India (now in Pakistan). He had three sisters and one brother. Shortly after his birth, India was partitioned and the family left Peshawar and moved to Bombay (present-day Mumbai).

He attended St. Mary's School, Bombay until class II and then transferred to Delhi. In 1957, the family moved to Delhi where he attended Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. Although the family moved back to Bombay in 1960, he was sent to Barnes School in Deolali, near Nashik. During his time at the boarding school Khanna watched the epics ''Solva Saal'' and ''Mughal-e-Azam'' and fell in love with motion pictures. He graduated with a commerce degree from Sydenham College, Bombay. Khanna loved cricket and had said that "there was a time when I played fair cricket with (Test player) Budhi Kunderan.. but settled for films the moment I realised I couldn't be a Vishwanath! Even so cricket, not films, is my first love," as per his interview with The Illustrated Weekly of India in 1979.

Career

Early Fim Career (1968–1971)

Vinod was spotted by Sunil Dutt after graduation, and made his acting debut in Sunil Dutt's 1968 film ''Man Ka Meet'' (directed by Adurthi Subba Rao) as a villain and in which Som Dutt was the hero, a remake of the Tamil film ''Kumari Penn''. At the start of his career, he played supporting or villainous characters in films such as ''Purab Aur Paschim'', ''Sachaa Jhutha'', ''Aan Milo Sajna'' and '' Mastana'' in 1970, and in ''Mera Gaon Mera Desh'', ''Mere Apne'' and '' Elaan'' in 1971.

Prime Fim Career (1971–1982)

From playing villain Khanna successfully switched over to playing the popular hero. He got his first break as the solo lead in '' Hum Tum Aur Woh'' (1971) opposite Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and followed it up with Gulzar's ''Mere Apne''. In 1973 his performance as an army officer facing death row in Gulzar's '' Achanak'', earned him critical acclaim. In 1974 he played a college professor in '' Imtihan'', which proved successful even in the face of stiff competition from ''Roti Kapda Aur Makan'' and '' Majboor''. ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' and ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'' in which he costarred Amitabh Bacchan went on to become the highest grossing Indian movies of 1977 and 1978 respectively. ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'' was the third highest-grossing Hindi movie in the 1970s after ''Sholay'' and ''Bobby''. At the peak of his popularity he played a supporting role in the 1978 ''Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'' a heroine-dominated movie with stalwarts Asha Parekh and Nutan.

Some of the successful movies of this era include '' Hatyara'' with Moushumi Chatterjee, ''Qaid'' with Leena Chandavarkar, '' Inkaar'' with Vidya Sinha, '' Aap Ki Khatir'' with Rekha, '' Khoon Ki Pukaar'', ''Shaque'' and '' Adha Din Aadhi Raat'' with Shabana Azmi, and '' Daulat'' with Zeenat Aman. In 1980, he starred in Feroz Khan's Qurbani (1980) which became the highest-grossing film of that year. He was, at the time, one of the highest paid actors in Hindi films.

Vinod also starred in 47 multi-hero films. In '' Shankar Shambhu'' he co-starred with Feroz Khan and in ''Chor Sipahee'' and ''Ek Aur Ek Gyarah'' he co-starred with Shashi Kapoor, in '' Hera Pheri'', ''Khoon Pasina'', ''Amar Akbar Anthony'', '' Zameer'', '' Parvarish'' and ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'' Khanna appeared with Amitabh Bachchan; and in ''Haath Ki Safai'' and '' Aakhri Daku'' he co-starred with Randhir Kapoor. He appeared with Sunil Dutt in '' Daku Aur Jawan'' and in Nehle pe Dehla. He acted with Jeetendra in ''Ek Hasina Do Diwane'', ''Ek Bechara'', '' Parichay'', '' Insaan'', '' Anokhi Ada'' and ''Janam Kundli''. He did '' Rakhwala'', ''Mera Gaon Mera Desh'', '' Patthar Aur Payal'', ''The Burning Train'', ''Batwara'' and ''Farishtay'' with Dharmendra. He worked with Shatrughan Sinha in films such as '' Panch Dushman'', '' Bombay 405 Miles'', '' Dost Aur Dushman'', ''Pyaar Ka Rishta'', '' Daulat Ke Dushman'' and '' Do Yaar'', beginning with Gulzar's directorial debut ''Mere Apne''.

Gulzar worked with him in '' Achanak'', ''Meera'' and ''Lekin'', after his first movie ''Mere Apne''.

Break from Films for Spirituality (1982–1986)

In 1982, Khanna took a break from the film industry to be with his guru Osho at the new Ashram in Oregon, USA. Earlier, Khanna had met his spiritual guru Osho (Rajneesh) sometime in the mid-1970's and had started visiting the Osho Ashram in Pune over the weekends for meditation. Khanna, who had taken initiation into Osho's neo-sanyas with the name Swami Vinod Bharti, also worked as a gardener at the Ashram. Around 1986, the Osho ashram in the US developed friction with the US government and got closed, following which Khanna came back to Mumbai and re-joined the film industry. When questioned whether he had quit following Osho, Khanna would show the wooden bead mala given to him by Osho, which he always wore; and he continued to visit Osho Nisarga Ashram, situated in Dharamshala in the Himalayas until his last years.

Later Film Career (1987–2015)

After returning to Bollywood in 1987, Khanna starred in '' Insaaf'' along with Dimple Kapadia. After ''Qurbani'', he worked again with Feroz Khan in ''Dayavan'' (1988), a remake of Maniratnam's ''Nayakan''. In 1989, he co-starred in romantic blockbuster '' Chandni'', but was mostly getting roles in action films. He made a popular pair with Meenakshi Seshadri with movies like '' Jurm'', ''Mahaadev'', '' Police Aur Mujrim'', '' Humshakal'' and ''Satyamev Jayate'' proving successful. His Muzaffar Ali-directed Dimple Kapadia-starring ''Zooni'' remained unreleased.

In the 1990s, Khanna appeared in a string of commercial films including ''Muqaddar Ka Badshaah'', ''CID'', '' Jurm'', ''Lekin'', '' Humshakal'', '' Aakhri Adaalat'', ''Maha-Sangram'', '' Khoon Ka Karz'', '' Police Aur Mujrim'', ''Kshatriya'', '' Insaaniyat Ke Devta'', '' Ekka Raja Rani'' and ''Eena Meena Deeka''. Salman Khan played a supporting role in ''Nishchaiy'' in which Vinod Khanna played the main lead. Actor Ranjeet directed him in ''Kaarnama''. He co-starred with Raaj Kumar in '' Suryaa: An Awakening''.

In 1997, he launched his son Akshaye Khanna in ''Himalay Putra'' in which he also starred alongside him. In 1999, Vinod Khanna received a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the industry for over three decades. Since then, he started playing character roles in films such as '' Deewaanapan'' (2002), '' Red Alert: The War Within''. In 2007, he starred in the Pakistani film '' Godfather''. Khanna also played several strong fatherly roles, including Salman Khan's father in blockbuster movies such as '' Wanted'' (2009), ''Dabangg'' (2010) and ''Dabangg 2'' (2012).

Khanna also ventured into television, playing the male lead role of "Kashinath" in the Smriti Irani-produced Hindi serial ''mere apne'', which aired on the channel 9X in 2009. In 2014, he played the lead role in '' Koyelaanchal'', in which he played the role of a Godfather and leader of the coal mafia. His last film to be released before his death was the 2015 film '' Dilwale'' alongside Shah Rukh Khan. The film was directed by Rohit Shetty and released on 18 December 2015 worldwide. He also acted in the film '' Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi'', a biopic based on the life and times of Vijaya Raje Scindia of Gwalior. The film was released on Zee TV. In 2020, a delayed film he had shot and completed in 2014 was released titled ''Guns of Banaras'' which officially marks his final film appearance.

Politics

In 1997, Khanna joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab in the next year's Lok Sabha poll. In 1999, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the same constituency. Later, he became 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 2004 he won re-election from Gurdaspur. However, Khanna lost out in the 2009 general elections. In the 2014 general election he was again elected for the 16th Lok Sabha from the same constituency. No other Bollywood star has triumphed in four Lok Sabha polls (1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014). He also served as Union minister of state for tourism and culture, as well as external affairs.

Personal life

Khanna met his first wife Gitanjali Taleyarkhan in college. Khanna married Gitanjali in 1971 and had two sons with her, Rahul and Akshaye; both became Bollywood actors. In 1975, he became a disciple of Osho and in the early 1980s, moved to Rajneeshpuram. Khanna and Gitanjali settled for a divorce in 1985.

In 1990, upon returning to India, Khanna married Kavita Daftary, daughter of industrialist Sharayu Daftary. They had a son, Sakshi (born 1991), and a daughter, Shraddha.

Illness and death

Khanna was hospitalised at the Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Girgaon, Mumbai, on 2 April 2017 for a few weeks after suffering from severe dehydration. He died at 11:20 a.m. (IST) on 27 April, and it was revealed that he had been battling advanced bladder cancer. Although the news about his deteriorating health started to spread in early 2017, his family declined to disclose any information. He was cremated at the Worli Crematorium on the same day.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

* 1975 – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Haath Ki Safai''
* 1977 – Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Hera Pheri''
* 1977 – Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actor for ''Shaque''
* 1979 – Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Muqaddar Ka Sikander''
* 1981 – Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actor for '' Qurbani''
*1990 – Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Chandni''
* 1999 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2005 – Stardust Awards – Role Model for the Year
* 2007 – Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement
* 2017 – Dadasaheb Phalke Award (posthumously).

References

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanna, Vinod
Indian male film actors
Film producers from Mumbai
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Punjab
1946 births
2017 deaths
Hindkowan people
Indian male television actors
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Male actors in Hindi cinema
People from Peshawar
Indian actor-politicians
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Rajneesh movement
India MPs 1998–1999
India MPs 1999–2004
India MPs 2004–2009
India MPs 2014–2019
Delhi Public School alumni
Punjabi people
Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors from Mumbai
Deaths from cancer in India
Deaths from bladder cancer
Filmfare Awards winners
Politicians from Mumbai
People from Gurdaspur district
Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients