Happy Birtrhday Vinod Khanna ji. What is your fav Vinod Khanna film ?

(On actor and politician Vinod Khanna's birthday (6 October), Bhawana Somaaya remembers the jolt he gave Bollywood by giving it all up at the peak of his acting career.)

It is said that when Sunil Dutt saw Vinod Khanna for the first time what attracted him to the young boy was that he was from Peshawar, now in Pakistan. Dutt decided to launch Khanna and his younger brother Som Dutt in his home production Man ka Meet (1968).

Initially, Vinod Khanna was just a good looking villain but he had presence and irrespective of whether his role was positive or negative, he was noticed in all his films be it Purab Aur Paschim with Manoj Kumar or Aan Milo Sajna and Saccha Jootha with Rajesh Khanna (1970).

1971 proved a turning point in Khanna's career as three films presented him in different avtaars. Sunil Dutt's Reshma Aur Shera, which also launched Amitabh Bachchan, Gulzar's Mere Apne, that defined him as an actor and Raj Khosla's dacoit drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh, where he shared screen space with Sunil Dutt and Dharmendra. On the personal front, Vinod Khanna married his childhood sweetheart Geetanjali and in the years to come had two handsome boys Akshaye and Rahul Khanna.

The 70s was a decade of multi-starrer films and Vinod Khanna was a prominent player, pairing up with Amitabh Bachchan and other actors. So it was Randhir Kapoor in Haath Ki Safai and Amitabh Bachchan in Khoon Pasina, Parvarish andAmar Akbar Anthony.

When I met Vinod Khanna for the first time in 1978, he was already into Osho Rajneesh and wore an orange kaftan and a beaded mala to shootings. He walked around the studio and his set with an orange cloth bag strapped around his shoulder and delayed getting into his costume till the shot was absolutely ready!

I have done a couple of interviews with him during this phase and distinctly remember that no matter what question you asked him, he had a knack of relating the answer to Rajneesh's philosophy.

When in Mumbai (then Bombay), he shot Monday to Friday and post pack-up drove to Pune (then Poona) to spend the weekend with Rajneesh. Producers were concerned about his obsession with Rajneesh but Vinod Khanna was blissfully indifferent to his surroundings.

As months went by his disinterest in work became more apparent and then, the inevitable happened! There was some problem at Rajneesh's Poona resort because of which Osho shifted overnight to Oregon and wanted his favourite disciple Vinod Khanna to follow him.

The year was 1980 Vinod Khanna was the darling of the nation, the action hero ofThe Burning Train and the heartbreaker of the very popular Qurbani. Would Vinod Khanna riding the crest of his success stake his career to listen to his guru?

When the news first reached our ears, nobody took it seriously and was dismissed as a crazy rumour. But slowly, as days went by, directors confided that he had stalled all his new projects indefinitely and producers confirmed that Vinod Khanna was returning signing amounts. This was indeed serious!

His co-stars were alarmed and his distributors angry. The media wanted to know what was going on. So finally, on the advice of his manager (then secretary), Vinod Khanna called a press conference. The venue was the newly launched Centaur (today Tulip Star) Hotel. His first wife Geetanjaili and his two boys were part of the conference.

In those days, press conferences were not as common as it is today and everyone was surprised how composed Vinod Khanna was. He did not make any elaborate speeches and just said that he had made up his mind to quit films and shift base. He said he was hearing drums and had to follow his heart and what happens in the future was for destiny to decide. His wife Geetanjali seated beside him was supportive of his decision.

In coming weeks, Vinod Khanna left for Oregon and if stories are to be believed, transformed into an able gardener at the Rajneeshpuram ashram. Every morning he woke up and watered the plants and sang to the flowers. He was happy, well almost and years went by. Vinod Khanna hardly returned to India and the media lost touch with him till one read news about his divorce in 1985.

After his long exile Vinod Khanna was first spotted on a popular magazine cover with a white beard. It was a signal to the film industry that the prodigal had returned and producers clamoured to queue outside his home. His first release post his spiritual break was Mukul Anand directed Insaaf starring Dimple Kapadia, followed by Feroze Khan's Dayavan. He was still very attractive and among the first actors to endorse a brand/ Cinthol. Yash Chopra signed him forChandni and Mahesh Bhatt for Jurm.

The 90s saw a decline professionally but he had much to celebrate in his personal life when he decided to marry Kavita. In 1997, Vinod Khanna launched his son Akshaye Khanna and his home production Himalay Putra but the film proved to be a disaster. Fortunately, this was the year he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected from Gurdaspur constituency, Punjab in the Lok Sabha poll. In 1999 he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the same constituency and by now Khanna had learnt to balance both the worlds.

I happened to bump into him at a film event soon after the release of his two films Kranti and Deewanapan. He said he enjoyed politics but found it stimulating to be in a creative environment and would pursue both as long as he could and he did.

After losing out in the 2009 Lok Sabha poll, Khanna bounced back in the 2014 general elections. For a monk who sold his Mercedes and turned a gardener, the actor/politician has gone through too many highs and lows to worry about his popularity.

The Vinod Khanna I know has no fears and lives each day as it comes.

(Bhawana Somaaya has been writing on cinema for 30 years and is the author of 12 books. Twitter: @bhawanasomaaya)

It is said that when Sunil Dutt saw Vinod Khanna for the first time what attracted him to the young boy was that he was from Peshawar, now in Pakistan. Dutt decided to launch Khanna and his younger brother Som Dutt in his home production Man ka Meet (1968).

Initially, Vinod Khanna was just a good looking villain but he had presence and irrespective of whether his role was positive or negative, he was noticed in all his films be it Purab Aur Paschim with Manoj Kumar or Aan Milo Sajna and Saccha Jootha with Rajesh Khanna (1970).

1971 proved a turning point in Khanna's career as three films presented him in different avtaars. Sunil Dutt's Reshma Aur Shera, which also launched Amitabh Bachchan, Gulzar's Mere Apne, that defined him as an actor and Raj Khosla's dacoit drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh, where he shared screen space with Sunil Dutt and Dharmendra. On the personal front, Vinod Khanna married his childhood sweetheart Geetanjali and in the years to come had two handsome boys Akshaye and Rahul Khanna.

The 70s was a decade of multi-starrer films and Vinod Khanna was a prominent player, pairing up with Amitabh Bachchan and other actors. So it was Randhir Kapoor in Haath Ki Safai and Amitabh Bachchan in Khoon Pasina, Parvarish andAmar Akbar Anthony.

When I met Vinod Khanna for the first time in 1978, he was already into Osho Rajneesh and wore an orange kaftan and a beaded mala to shootings. He walked around the studio and his set with an orange cloth bag strapped around his shoulder and delayed getting into his costume till the shot was absolutely ready!

I have done a couple of interviews with him during this phase and distinctly remember that no matter what question you asked him, he had a knack of relating the answer to Rajneesh's philosophy.

As months went by his disinterest in work became more apparent and then, the inevitable happened! There was some problem at Rajneesh's Poona resort because of which Osho shifted overnight to Oregon and wanted his favourite disciple Vinod Khanna to follow him.

The year was 1980 Vinod Khanna was the darling of the nation, the action hero ofThe Burning Train and the heartbreaker of the very popular Qurbani. Would Vinod Khanna riding the crest of his success stake his career to listen to his guru?

When the news first reached our ears, nobody took it seriously and was dismissed as a crazy rumour. But slowly, as days went by, directors confided that he had stalled all his new projects indefinitely and producers confirmed that Vinod Khanna was returning signing amounts. This was indeed serious!

His co-stars were alarmed and his distributors angry. The media wanted to know what was going on. So finally, on the advice of his manager (then secretary), Vinod Khanna called a press conference. The venue was the newly launched Centaur (today Tulip Star) Hotel. His first wife Geetanjaili and his two boys were part of the conference.

In those days, press conferences were not as common as it is today and everyone was surprised how composed Vinod Khanna was. He did not make any elaborate speeches and just said that he had made up his mind to quit films and shift base. He said he was hearing drums and had to follow his heart and what happens in the future was for destiny to decide. His wife Geetanjali seated beside him was supportive of his decision.

In coming weeks, Vinod Khanna left for Oregon and if stories are to be believed, transformed into an able gardener at the Rajneeshpuram ashram. Every morning he woke up and watered the plants and sang to the flowers. He was happy, well almost and years went by. Vinod Khanna hardly returned to India and the media lost touch with him till one read news about his divorce in 1985.

After his long exile Vinod Khanna was first spotted on a popular magazine cover with a white beard. It was a signal to the film industry that the prodigal had returned and producers clamoured to queue outside his home. His first release post his spiritual break was Mukul Anand directed Insaaf starring Dimple Kapadia, followed by Feroze Khan's Dayavan. He was still very attractive and among the first actors to endorse a brand/ Cinthol. Yash Chopra signed him for Chandni and Mahesh Bhatt for Jurm.

The 90s saw a decline professionally but he had much to celebrate in his personal life when he decided to marry Kavita. In 1997, Vinod Khanna launched his son Akshaye Khanna and his home production Himalay Putra but the film proved to be a disaster. Fortunately, this was the year he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected from Gurdaspur constituency, Punjab in the Lok Sabha poll. In 1999 he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the same constituency and by now Khanna had learnt to balance both the worlds.

I happened to bump into him at a film event soon after the release of his two filmsKranti and Deewanapan. He said he enjoyed politics but found it stimulating to be in a creative environment and would pursue both as long as he could and he did.

After losing out in the 2009 Lok Sabha poll, Khanna bounced back in the 2014 general elections. For a monk who sold his Mercedes and turned a gardener, the actor/politician has gone through too many highs and lows to worry about his popularity.

The Vinod Khanna I know has no fears and lives each day as it comes.