Late superstar Vinod Khanna was among very few names who made it big in Bollywood after making their debut as a villain. He 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. The actor died by cancer in April 2017.
On Vinod Khanna’s birth anniversary, here are some interesting facts about the actor
- Vinod Khanna was popularly called “the monk who sold his Mercedes” and was also known by another name – Swami Vinod Bharti post his spiritual journey.
- Vinod had revealed he was a gardener at Osho’s Rajneeshpuram, the city he built in America and stayed four years with him. “I was his gardener, I cleaned the toilets, I did the dishes, and his clothes were tried out on me because we were, physically, of the same stature,” he revealed in one of the interviews.
- 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 on the peak of his career when he quit films in search of spiritual satisfaction, which took him to Osho.
- Vinod had his tryst with politics when he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and went on to be elected twice from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab. It is currently held by actor Sunny Deol who contested the Lok Sabha elections this year.
- Vinod was appointed as the Minister for Culture and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet in 2002. Later, he was appointed as the Minister of State for External Affairs.
- 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.
- When the actor returned to India and ended his spiritual break, he was offered to run Osho’s ashram in Pune.
- 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.
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