37 Facts About Vinod Khanna

Vinod Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema.

Vinod Khanna held ministerial positions in the Government of India, including Minister for Culture and Tourism and Minister of State for External Affairs under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vinod Khanna made his film debut in 1968 and initially acted in supporting and antagonistic roles.

Vinod Khanna rose to stardom in the mid-1970s with a series of successful films, including Haath Ki Safai, for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Vinod Khanna reached his peak in the late 1970s with blockbusters like Amar Akbar Anthony and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, solidifying his status as a leading actor.

Vinod Khanna's career continued to flourish with hits such as Qurbani, which became the highest-grossing film of the year and earned him critical acclaim.

In 1982, at the peak of his career, Vinod Khanna took a five-year hiatus from films to follow his spiritual guru, Osho Rajneesh.

Vinod Khanna returned to the film industry in 1987 with the film Insaaf and continued to act in various roles.

Vinod Khanna was born in a Punjabi Hindu family to Kamla and Krishanchand Vinod Khanna on 6 October 1946, in Peshawar, British India.

Vinod Khanna's father was a businessman dealing in textiles, dyes and chemicals while his mother was a housewife.

Vinod Khanna had three sisters and one brother, Pramod Khanna, who reprised his role for Dabangg 3, as he had died before its release.

Vinod Khanna attended St Mary's School, Bombay until class II and then transferred to Delhi.

Vinod Khanna graduated with a commerce degree from Sydenham College, Bombay.

Vinod Khanna began his acting career in 1968 with a supporting role in Adurthi Subba Rao's romantic thriller Man Ka Meet produced by Sunil Dutt.

The film performed well at the box office and Vinod Khanna was noticed by the audience.

Vinod Khanna's breakthrough came in 1970 when he co-starred alongside Rajesh Khanna in Sachaa Jhutha and Aan Milo Sajna and Manoj Kumar in Purab Aur Paschim, all three of which were blockbusters as well as among the top five highest grossing films of that year.

Vinod Khanna bagged his first leading role in Gulzar's maiden directional venture Mere Apne, which opened to positive response from critics and proved to be a hit.

Vinod Khanna then played the antagonist in Raj Khosla's action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh which had Dharmendra and Asha Parekh in the lead.

The film made the industry shift to action from romantic films and was an All Time Blockbuster at the box office with Vinod Khanna receiving praise for his menacing portrayal of a treacherous bandit.

In 1974, Vinod Khanna starred in Prakash Mehra's masala film Haath Ki Safai which had Randhir Kapoor and Hema Malini in the lead.

Vinod Khanna then delivered two more major successes with Chand's and Raj Khosla's actioners, Shankar Shambhu and Nehle Pe Dehla, respectively.

Vinod Khanna then appeared in Aap Ki Khatir, Shaque and Hatyara.

Vinod Khanna reunited with Bachchan and Manmohan Desai for the crime drama film Parvarish.

Vinod Khanna's dream continued in 1978 with back-to-back mega blockbusters in Raj Khosla's women-oriented drama Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki and Prakash Mehra's magnum opus, the action crime drama Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.

Vinod Khanna concluded the year with Sunil Dutt's actioner Daaku Aur Jawan co-starring Dutt, Reena Roy and Leena Chandavarkar.

Vinod Khanna then appeared in Yash Chopra's romantic musical Chandni co-starring Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor.

Chandni won National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Vinod Khanna received his final nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.

Vinod Khanna then played supporting roles in Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Koyelaanchal and Dilwale.

The last film to feature Vinod Khanna was Sekhar Suri's much delayed action film Guns of Banaras, which released almost three years after his death.

In 1997, Vinod Khanna joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab in the next year's Lok Sabha poll.

Vinod Khanna served as Union minister of state for tourism and culture, as well as external affairs.

Vinod Khanna married Gitanjali in 1971 and had two sons with her, Rahul and Akshaye; both became Bollywood actors.

In 1990, upon returning to India, Vinod Khanna married Kavita Daftary, daughter of industrialist Sharayu Daftary.

Vinod Khanna always considered himself spiritual, owing to his family background as well his discovery of Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi he read while still in college.

Vinod Khanna was cremated at the Worli Crematorium on the same day.

Vinod Khanna is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema.

One of the highest paid actors from the 1970s to the early 1980s, Vinod Khanna appeared in Box Office Indias "Top Actors" list three times from 1977 to 1979.