9 things you never knew about Vinod Khanna

1. To start with, did you know, yesteryear hero Vinod Khanna did not use any dupe for action sequences in his movies? Yes, the sources say that he entered the filmdom as a villain and insisted on doing all the stunt by himself. Vinod Khanna stands apart from other heroes because he chose spirituality and took a U-turn from movies when he was at the peak of his career.

 

2. Born in Peshawar, (undivided India) in 1946 on October 6, Khanna’s family migrated to Amritsar in Punjab after the partition, following Indian independence. After a while, the family settled in Ludhiana.

 

 

3. Vinod Khanna completed graduation at Sydenham College in Mumbai which specializes in Economics and Commerce. Thus he did not have any formal theatre education, but acting and films was his passion. After completing his graduation he moved to the Bollywood to try his luck there.

 

4. Vinod Khanna’s first film was not made for him but instead to introduce his brother Som Dutt to Bollywood. Sunil Dutt had produced the movie ‘Man Ka Meet’, and Vinod Khanna played the villain. Later, Vinod went on to act in Saccha Jhoota, Aan Milo Sajna, Mera Gaon Mera Desh in the negative role.

 

 

5. But movies Mere Apne (1972) and Achanak (1973) became milestones in his filmy career. The audience instantly fell for Vinod Khanna’s dashing looks and convincing acting. In the later days, he acted in blockbuster movies Hera Pheri, Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish, Khoon Paseena, Mukaddar Ka Sikandar and was almost on par with Amitabh Bachchan in acting.

 

6. He was still at the peak of his career when he lost his mother. This made his go into depression, and he chose to follow Bhagawan Rajanish of Osho fame, and this became a setback in his career.

 

 

7. In 1974, he won best supporting actor Filmfare award for his movie Hath Ki Safai. After a gap, Vinod Khanna’s second innings in films began with Insaf in 1987. But this film failed to gain people’s attention.  But the Filmfare awarded him with lifetime achievement award in 1999. In the 90s, he also acted in films including Risk, Wanted, 99, etc.

 

 

8. Vinod Khanna entered politics by joining BJP in 1997. Very next year, he was elected to Lok Sabha from Gurdaspur Constituency in Punjab. He also served as a minister in 2002 in the BJP government. He was selected to the Lok Sabha again in 2009.

 

9.  Vinod Khanna married twice. His first wife was Geethanjali, and he had two children from her- Akshay and Rahul Khanna. In 1990 Vinod Khanna got married to Kavita and had a son Sakshi and daughter Shraddha.