Vinod Khanna the Bollywood actor who donned many caps simultaneously such as a villain and hero in Hindi movies, Member of Parliament, a Sanyasi was the most handsome actor. His screen presence was uncontested. In the fighting scenes in any movie of his, viewers could believe them as real fights because he had a great physique and was talented.
Vinod Khanna is an actor who turned his back to stardom; his journey into spirituality began with a reading of `The Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahansa Yogananda in his college days. He was in contact with many spiritual teachers but it was one of his meetings with Acharya Rajneesh famously known as Osho that transformed his life. He retired from films and went to live at Osho’s Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, US. The important point to note is that when Vinod Khanna took the decision of joining Rajneesh, he was an established actor at top of his career. Vinod spent four years as Swami Vinod Bharti at Oregon and during this phase he separated from his wife Gitanjali.
He acted in more than sixty films including some multi-starrers many of which were super-duper hits. He played a perfect Jabbar Singh in Mera Gaon Mera Desh, a vicious dacoit who terrorises Chambal. His transition from a bad guy to a good guy in movies was gradual. In Gulzar’s Mere Apne (1971), Vinod Khanna was the leader of a bunch of rebellious, unemployed youth typifying the angst-ridden political and social landscape of India in the early 1970s.
The same year he had the opportunity to play a solo hero in Hum Tum Aur Woh in which he also sang the super hit `Priya praneshwari’.
Many film Pundits feel that Vinod Khanna’s exit from Bollywood to join Rajneesh gave a wonderful chance to Amitabh Bacchan to rein the stardom in Bollywood. Just when Bollywood had given up on Khanna, he returned in 1987 with Satyamev Jayate and Insaaf, both moderately successful films. He was good as a mafia boss in Dayavan, inspired allegedly by real-life don Varadarajan Mudaliar. In his acting career that spanned four decades, Vinod Khanna distinctively appeared in films that co-starred some powerful actors and most charming actresses. I give here below some of his rare yet hit songs:
Song: Naino Mein Darpan Hai, Darpan Mein Koi
Film Aarop (1973) Singers: Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar Music Director: Bhupen Hazarika
Roz Shyam ati thi…(what I like most in this song is prelude of about 15-20 seconds, chirping of birds, then guitar piece, song starts with Lata’s aaap…Tanuja and Vinod both look classy) Film: Imtihan (1974), Singers: Lata Mangeshkar,
Music Director: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Jab koi baat bigad jaye, Film: Jurm (1990), Kumar Sanu, Music Director: Rajesh Roshan
Chahiye Thoda Pyar, Film: Lahu Ke Do Rang, Singers: Kishore Kumar, Music Director: Bappi Lahiri
