Vinod Khanna's Habit Of Arriving Late To Sets Affected His Career, Claims Film Analyst

Vinod Khanna, a Bollywood icon known for his charismatic personality, held a special place in the hearts of fans and left an indelible mark on the film industry with his acting skills. As a leading man in Bollywood, his stardom was often compared with Amitabh Bachchan’s, but Khanna chose a different path and started his spiritual journey under the guidance of self-proclaimed godman Osho. Khanna made the surprising decision to leave Bollywood, at the height of his career. Recently, in an interview with ETimes, Film Analyst Dilip Thakur shed light on Khanna’s personality, and his comeback in the film industry and claimed he could have given tough competition to the Agneepath star if he had not chosen the path of spirituality.

Dilip said, “People often compared who is the superstar, Vinod Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan? In that comparison, Amitabh Bachchan moved ahead. At that time, a lot of people from within the industry, audience and media were of the opinion that if Vinod Khanna hadn’t taken the spiritual path and left the industry, he could have been a great competitor to Amitabh Bachchan. But in my opinion, Amitabh Bachchan had more versatility than Vinod Khanna.”

When Vinod Khanna decided to return to Bollywood after his spiritual journey, things changed a lot after his return. Despite losing his stardom during his absence, the audience welcomed him back with open arms. Dilip Thakur further claimed that Khanna received positive feedback from the film industry upon his comeback, especially in Mukul Anand’s Insaaf and Raj N Sippy’s Satyamev Jayate. Later, the actor went on to work in four blockbuster films by Gulzar, Mere Apne, Achanak, Meera and Lekin. He also made a guest appearance in Parichay as Jeetendra’s friend.

Dilip pointed out that when it came to on-screen presence and walking style, there were only two actors who stood out, Raaj Kumar and Vinod Khanna. He stated, “Vinod Khanna walked like a stallion. Take any film of his, especially his films with Mukul Anand such as Mahasangram and Insaaf.”

In the following years, the late superstar also appeared in Feroze Khan’s film Dayavan and starred in Yash Chopra’s directorial Chandni. Mahesh Bhatt offered him a role in Jurm. Interestingly, Khanna was one of the early actors to endorse a brand and collaborated with Cinthol. A few years ago, his son and actor Rahul Khanna shared a picture of the iconic campaign and wrote, “Soap and Glory. Throwing back to the 80s — my dad’s iconic Cinthol campaign.”

Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, 2017, in Mumbai at the age of 70, due to bladder cancer.