Late superstar Vinod Khanna was among very few names who made it big in Bollywood after making their debut as a villain.
One of the favorite cops we grew up watching in Indian cinema featured in several hit films such as Gaddaar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Jaane-Anjaane, Jurm, and many others.
The actor, who gave up fame in order to embrace spirituality only to return home after a 5-year break, was active in films until his last years before he died to cancer in April 2017.
He was also an active politician and was 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.
On the occasion of Vinod Khanna’s 73rd birth anniversary, here are some lesser-known facts about the actor:
- Vinod had revealed he was a gardener at Osho’s Rajneeshpuram, the city he built in America and stayed four years with him.
- Vinod played Chulbul Pandey’s father Prajapati Pandey in Salman Khan’s Dabangg and its sequel. After his death, his brother Pramod Khanna has stepped into his shoes in Dabangg 3 due to his stark similarity with the late actor.
- He shot to fame as a ‘dacoit’ before he went on to claim stardom in Bollywood alongside ruling stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. He had debuted with Sunil Dutt’s 1968 film, Man Ka Meet as a villain.
- Vinod was at the peak of his career when he quit films in search of spiritual satisfaction, which took him to Osho.
- According to reports, Vinod was cast in 1980 film Qurbani after the role was rejected by Amitabh Bachchan. The film later became the highest-grossing film of that year.
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