New Delhi: That was the era of actors like Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra and Dharmendra. These people were liked for romancing on screen. There was a set story of hero-heroine and villain. The definition of villain was something different. A fierce looking person, a cut mark on the face and twirling his moustache! At such a time, Vinod Khanna entered as a villain and dominated the silver screen. Everyone became a fan of this villain. The skilled people of the film industry understood the choice of the people and started giving him the role of hero. He was a hit too. After 1975, he started competing directly with Amitabh Bachchan. He was at the peak of success when he left everything and immersed himself in the world of spirituality. He came from a business family but the desire to appear on the silver screen made him an actor. Acting mattered to him, he gave importance to the character. He was so handsome that actors used to say how would a hero look in front of a goon with such a physique? This actor’s birth anniversary is on 6 October.
There is an old interview in which Vinod says that when he was compared to Amitabh, how could he consider anyone else as his competitor? Vinod Khanna did 10 films with Amitabh. There were a lot of similarities between the two. Their height was great and their personality was amazing. Both were great in fight sequences and romantic scenes.
Only one person brought both Amitabh and Vinod on screen and that was Sunil Dutt. Bachchan made his entry with ‘Reshma Aur Shera’ and Khanna’s first film as a villain was ‘Man Ka Meet’. Both actors were seen together for the first time in ‘Reshma Aur Shera’ and were last seen in ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’. After working together in 1978, they parted ways and the reason for this was the 16 stitches on Vinod Khanna’s chin! Amitabh Bachchan also talked about this in the fourteenth season of KBC. While answering a contestant’s question, he admitted that his glass missed the target and hit Vinod’s chin. He was bleeding and had to get 16 stitches. However, Bachchan also apologized. But the truth is that Vinod was so angry that after this the successful Amitabh-Vinod pair was never seen on screen.
One film made Vinod Khanna the biggest star. This was the film whose ‘Qurbani’ Amitabh regretted a lot. The film was ‘Qurbani’ released in 1980. A great film of Feroz Khan and Vinod Khanna. Everything from songs to action sequences was unmatched. Made in 2.5 crores but earned 25 crores at the box office. This one film gave a tough challenge to Amitabh’s superstardom. But Vinod, who was always seen doing something different, took a decision that surprised everyone. Vinod chose the path of sanyaas. He considered Osho as his Guru and leaving everything, settled in Rajneeshpuram in America. He worked as a gardener there, washed utensils. He stayed for five years but then his mind started getting distracted. His career had come to a halt and on the other hand, his family in India had broken up. His wife had divorced him.
In an interview, the actor had said that he was mentally helpless, he cannot say anything about whether the decision was right or not. Well, when he returned, he got involved in 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 Partition, CID, Jurm, Kshatriya. The journey did not stop here. One more step of adventure was yet to be climbed. He entered active politics in 1997. He was elected MP from Gurdaspur seat not once but four times. He was also a minister. But, he did not break his ties with films. He was also seen in Salman Khan’s Dabangg and Dabangg 2. He balanced his passion and profession neatly. 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. On 27 April 2017, Vinod left this world after a long illness. The legacy he left behind is immortal and infinite. She tells me that this is what life really is.
