MUMBAI: Bollywood lost its ‘one of the most handsome heroes’ on Thursday when veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away at the age of 70. He was hospitalised for severe dehydration earlier this month and was also diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer.
Born in Peshawar in present-day Pakistan in 1946, Khanna was a sitting Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Lok Sabha from the Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab. He was admitted to Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Girgaon, Mumbai on April 2. Hospital authorities, in their official statement said that he breathed his last at 11.20 am.
“Doctors and family were expecting a recovery but his condition deteriorated and he succumbed on Thursday afternoon,” a hospital source said.
Images of frail Khanna receiving treatment at the hospital had gone viral over social media sending waves of shock and sympathy amongst millions of his fans a few days back. His family had then requested privacy.
Luminaries from the field of politics and films along with his admirers paid respects on Twitter on learning about his death.
Actor Rishi Kapoor, who was Khanna’s co-star in the 1977’s Amar Akbar Anthony, tweeted a poster of the film. “We will miss you Amar. RIP,” Kapoor said, referring to Khanna’s screen name in the film.
In a tweet, actor Richa Chadha decribed Khanna as “the fantasy of most women in the northern India through the 1980s”.
“#VinodKhanna ji had a magnetic charm & persona. Both on & off screen. He was kind, affectionate & helpful. Loved his panther like walk,” said actor Anupam Kher in his tweet.
“His screen presence is unparalleled even today...his super star swag is what we grew up on....RIP #VinodKhanna ...thoughts and prayers....,” tweeted Karan Johar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance minister Arun Jaitley, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, cultural minister Vinod Tawde, former Congress MP from Mumbai Milind Deora, MPCC chief Ashok Chavan were amongst the politicians who paid respects to the actor over twitter.
One of the very few actors who started off their career as villains and then succeeded in lead roles, Khanna quickly became darling of masses. He gave several hit films before he abruptly quit his career in early ‘80s to join controversial spiritual guru Osho Rajnish. Though he returned to the film career five years later, his competitors had moved far ahead by then.
In his career, spanning over 45 years, the actor worked in films such as Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Reshma Aur Shera (1971), Parichay (1972), Hera Pheri (1976), Parvarish (1977), The Burning Train (1980), Muqaddar Ka Badshaah (1990), Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Dilwale (2015).
Khanna acted in more than 146 films including Imtihan (1974) opposite Tanuja, a movie remembered for its hit songs. He was adept at handling both romantic and action films with ease, getting under the skin of his characters with ease. In 1988, he played the role of an aging gangster in Dayavaan, as he made a comeback in the industry.
Born in a Punjabi business family to Kamla and Kishanchand Khanna in Peshawar, Vinod studied commerce at Mumbai’s Sydenham College before moving into acting. Khanna was married to Geetanjali between 1971 and 1985 and has two sons with her, Rahul Khanna and Akshaye Khanna. He married Kavita with whom he has two children, Sakshi and Shraddha.
Last rites were performed at Worli crematorium in the evening.