New Delhi . That was the era of actors like Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra and Dharmendra. These people were liked romancing on screen. There was a set story of hero, heroine and villain. The definition of villain itself was different. Looking ferocious, with a cut mark on his face and a wispy moustache! At such a time, Vinod Khanna entered as a villain and dominated the silver screen. Everyone became a fan of this villain. People's preferences were understood by the experts of the film industry and the roles of heroes started being given to them. There were a lot of hits also. After 1975, he started giving direct competition to Amitabh Bachchan. When he was at the peak of success, he left everything and got engrossed in the world of spirituality.
He came from a business family but the desire to appear on the film screen made him an actor. Acting was important for him, he gave importance to the character. So handsome that the actor used to say that how would a hero look in front of such a tall and tall goon? This actor's birth anniversary is on 6th October.
There is an old interview in which Vinod says that when he was compared with Amitabh, then how could he consider anyone else as his competitor? Vinod Khanna did 10 films with Amitabh. There were many similarities between the two. Height is great and personality is amazing. Both were tremendous in fight sequences and romantic scenes too.
Only one person brought both Amitabh and Vinod on screen and that was Sunil Dutt. While Bachchan entered with 'Reshma Aur Shera', Khanna's first film as a villain was 'Mann Ka Meet'. Both the actors were seen together for the first time in 'Reshma Aur Shera' and last time in 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'. After working together in 1978, both of them parted ways and the reason for this was Vinod Khanna's 16 stitches on his chin.
Amitabh Bachchan also talked about this in the fourteenth season of KBC. While answering the question of a participant, he admitted that his aiming glass had hit Vinod's chin by mistake. Bleeded out and got 16 stitches. Although Bachchan had also apologized.
But the reality is that Vinod was so angry that after this the successful pairing of AmitabhVinod was never seen on screen.
One film had made Vinod Khanna the biggest star. This was the film whose 'Qurbani' made Amitabh regret a lot. The film was 'Qurbani' released in 1980. Awesome film of Firoz Khan and Vinod Khanna. From songs to action sequences, everything was unmatched. Made for Rs 2.5 crore but earned Rs 25 crore at the box office. This one film gave a strong challenge to Amitabh's superstardom. But Vinod, who was always seen doing something different, took a decision which surprised everyone.
Vinod chose the path of retirement. He considered Osho as his Guru and left everything and settled in Rajneeshpuram, America.
Worked as a gardener there, washed utensils. It lasted for five years but then my mind started getting disturbed. Career had come to an end and on the other hand, the family in India had scattered. The wife had taken divorce.
In an interview, the actor had said that he was mentally constrained and could not say anything about whether the decision was right or not. Well, when he returned, he enjoyed films and also got married for the second time. The 90s were welcoming many new actors with open arms. It was during this period that Vinod did films like Bantwara, CID, Jurm, Kshatriya.
The journey did not stop here. One more level of adventure was yet to be climbed. Entered active politics in 1997. Was elected MP from Gurdaspur seat not once but four times. Was also a minister.
But, did not break ties with films. Also seen in Salman Khan's Dabangg and Dabangg 2. Neatly balanced passion and profession. However, Vinod Khanna also had a passion for cricket. He himself used to say that he liked cricket more than acting and regretted that he could not make a career in sports.
Vinod left this world on 27 April 2017 after a long illness. The legacy left behind is immortal and eternal. Tells that this is what living really means.
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Image Credit: Khaskhabar.