Bollywood actor and politician
Born: October 6, 1946;
Died: April 27, 2017
VINOD Khanna, who has died aged 70, was one of the biggest stars of Bollywood, a notorious villain turned leading man who appeared in more than 100 films and became one of India's most recognisable actors.
He was known for another reason too: his years following the controversial mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher Acharya Rajneesh, also known as Osho. Osho advocated letting go of your mind, aggression and sexual energy as a way to enlightenment, but the leader of the cult, which was founded in the late 1960s, also became known for his love of expensive jewellery and cars. Khanna lived on the group's compound in the United States for several years.
On his return to India, Khanna resumed his acting career and also entered politics with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, standing for the Gurdaspur constituency in northern Punjab state in Parliament, which he represented until his death. He also served as junior external affairs minister and culture and tourism minister in the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Born in Peshawar, Khanna and his family moved to India when it became part of Pakistan in 1947. He graduated from college in Mumbai but had always loved the movies and began concentrating on acting full-time.
He made his film debut in Man ka Meet in 1968, playing, as he would often do, the villain. According to the film writer Jai Arjun Singh, it was first time that a modern Bollywood hero had started his career playing the bad guy.
"Khanna's villainy was impressive as it combined his dashing looks with an edgy dangerous menace that made him impressive on screen," said Singh. "He was better at playing villain parts than the conventional Bollywood hero."
Khanna played a villain again in 1971 in one of his most famous films, Mera Gaon Mera Desh (My Village, My Country). His other popular appearances included Mere Apne (My Own), Gaddaar (Traitor), and Kachhe Dhaage (Delicate Thread) and there was a time when his popularity was seen to rival that of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, with whom Khanna appeared in several films. Khanna always denied that a rivalry existed between the two actors. "Never did a cold war exist between me and Amitabh Bachhan," he said. "He in all fairness is a fabulous actor."
Khanna's departure from the film industry came in 1982 when he quit the industry to join Osho Rajneesh,who espoused free love as the path to higher consciousness. Khanna lived with other followers on a compound in Oregon and performed many duties for the guru including cleaning the toilets.
However, four years after Khanna arrived at the compound, Osho was arrested and deported for immigration offences and in 1985 Khanna returned to Mumbai to resume his movie career.
Speaking about his time as a follower of Osho, Khanna said he had no regrets. "I never believed I tread the wrong path by becoming a disciple of Acharya Rajneesh," he said. "During the restless period of my life in the late ‘70s, I found solace in his teachings."
Khanna's return to movies in the 1980s was well received, but in 1997 he moved into politics, and was elected to parliament four times. He was also made a junior minister.
Explaining the different paths he had taken in his life, Khanna said he had wanted to explore more than one thing in his life.
"I am, I guess, a human being who does what feels right to him at the time, does what he really wants to do," he said.
"Sure, it is easy to latch onto one thing, to be and do that all your life - but within you is a voice saying there must be something more to life. I look for that something more."
Khanna married his first wife, Geetanjali, in 1971 and they had two sons, Rahul Khanna and Akshaye Khanna, who also became Bollywood actors.
The marriage ended in divorce, and he married his second wife, Kavita, in 1990. They had two children, a son and a daughter.
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