Vinod Khanna

Vinod Khanna

Date of Birth:
 6 October, 1946
Height:
 6' 1



Early life:


Khanna was born to Kamla and Kishanchand Khanna, a textiles, dyes and chemicals businessman of Hindu Punjabi Khatri origin, on 6 October 1946, in Peshawar, British India(now in Pakistan). He has three sisters and one brother. Shortly after his birth, India was partitioned and the family fled Peshawar and reached Mumbai (then Bombay).
At Mumbai, he attended Queen Mary School, Bombay (Mumbai) until class II and then shifted to St. Xavier's High School, Fort. In 1957, the family again shifted to Delhi where he attended Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. Although the family moved back to Mumbai in 1960, he was sent to Barnes School in Devlali. It was during his time at the boarding school that he watched the epic Mughal-e-Azam and fell in love with motion pictures. He graduated with a commerce degree from Sydenham College.


Career

Vinod Khanna debuted in Sunil Dutt's 1968 film Man Ka Meet as a villain. He acted in multi-starrer films often playing supporting and negative roles in hit films such as Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Sachaa Jhutha (1970) and Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971). His big break was in the 1971 film Mere Apne directed by Gulzar. His performance as an army officer facing death row in another Gulzar scripted and directed 1973 film Achanak was critically acclaimed. The songless film echoed the true life story of K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra and Khanna portrayed Kawas Nanavati, the real life Navy officer.
He went on to star in many hits throughout the mid 1970s and early 1980s, including Parvarish (1977), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Khoon Pasina (1977), Muqaddar Ka Sikander (1978), The Burning Train (1980) and Qurbani (1980). Having peaked in Bollywood, he became a follower of the spiritual teacher Osho (Rajneesh) and left the film industry in 1979 for eight years. At this time, he was one of the most successful actors in the Bollywood, competing with Amitabh Bachchan & Jeetendra. He rejoined the industry, eight years later in mid 1980s. He continued to appear in many notable films from the mid 1980s to the 1990s such as Dayavan (1988), Chandni (1989), Kshatriya (1993), Eena Meena Deeka (1994) and Ekka Raja Rani (1994).
His pairing with Amitabh Bachchan was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
In 1997 he donned the role of producer to launch his middle son Akshaye Khanna in the film Himalay Putra; he also starred in the film. In 1999 he received a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the film industry for over three decades. He has since acted in fewer films playing character roles. His most recent films were Deewaanapan (2002), Risk (2007), Wanted (2009) and Dabangg (2010).
He also ventured into television playing the male lead role of "Kashi Nath" in the Smriti Irani-produced Hindi serial Mere Apne, which aired on the channel 9X.



Politics


In 1997, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab in the next year's Lok Sabha poll. In 1999, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the same constituency. Later, he became union minister for culture and tourism in July 2002. Six months later, he was moved to the more important ministry of external affairs (MEA) as minister of state. In 2004 he won re-election from Gurdaspur. However, he lost out in the 2009 Lok Sabha poll.



Personal life


Khanna married Geetanjali in 1971, and has two sons with her, Rahul Khanna and Akshaye Khanna; both are Hindi film actors. In 1975, Khanna became a disciple of Osho (Acharya Rajneesh). In the early 1980s, he moved to Rajneeshpuram, Osho's commune in the United States, for four years, cleaning dishes and working as Osho's gardener. His absence from his family, who remained behind in India, caused friction between the couple, and the marriage ended in divorce.
In 1990, he married his second wife, Kavita. They have a son, Sakshi, and a daughter Shraddha.



Awards and nominations


1975 – Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Haath Ki Safai


1977 – Filmfare Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for Hera Pheri


1978 – Filmfare Nomination as Best Actor for Shaque


1979 – Filmfare Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for Muqaddar Ka Sikander


1981 – Filmfare Nomination as Best Actor for Qurbani


1999 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award


2006 – Stardust Awards - Role Model for the Year


2007 – Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement