Vinod Khanna that name, after seeing whom on screen people started saying that Amitabh Bachchan’s career is now in danger. In the 70-80s, when Amitabh was giving hit films one after the other, then Vinod Khanna collected such a coin that Amitabh Bachchan’s stardom started shaking. Career was at its peak, there was a wife and two children in the house, but then suddenly he took a decision and surprised the film industry along with the family. Vinod Khanna, who always lived a luxury life, first worked as a gardener in Osho’s ashram, then cleaned his washroom and even the false utensils of the ashram.
When Vinod Khanna was on the way to become a superstar, he retired from the film industry and became so absorbed in spirituality that he forgot his wife and children and went to the shelter of Osho. Why did he take this decision? Do you know that after this decision, his wife also became very angry with him.
Film journey started in 1698
Vinod Khanna’s film journey started in the year 1698. He took entry in Bollywood with Sunil Dutt’s film ‘Man Ka Meet’. His role was also highly praised. After this, he also got a lot of love from the audience for the role of a dacoit in the film ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’. Due to his increasing popularity, he started getting the roles of lead hero. He did many great films like ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’, ‘The Burning Train’.
Vinod Khanna’s decision surprised people
Vinod Khanna’s career was at its peak and there were lines of film offers in front of him. Meanwhile, the news of his retirement had created a stir among the industry and his fans. Some started thinking this whole story as a publicity stunt and some felt that their mental condition was not right. This was happening because earlier in Bollywood such a big star had never returned like this after reaching these heights of his career.
When Vinod Khanna was not happy even after everything
If media reports are to be believed, if Vinod Khanna had not fallen in love with Acharya Rajneesh, perhaps the history of Bollywood would have been different. Perhaps Amitabh Bachchan would not have become a superstar so easily and Vinod Khanna’s career would have been around him. It is said that he had everything in that period. Wife, two lovely sons, house, car, money everything but even after that he could not be happy. Used to work on the set for hours and started drinking alcohol daily after pack-up. He used to get angry a lot, which was the reason that he got involved in many street fights as well. To improve himself, he took the support of yoga and also started meditation. Then he met Acharya Rajneesh and then everything changed.
Vinod Khanna was impressed by this story!
People wanted to know why he decided to go to Osho’s shelter? It is said that after listening to a story of Osho, he was greatly impressed by him. It is said that he was impressed by the story of a Zen master. In which, ‘a thief escapes. There a Zen master is sitting meditating and the police come and arrest him thinking him to be a thief. Guru is put in jail, but Guru does not tell that he did not steal. Now even in jail, the Guru remains engrossed in meditation and seeing him, many other prisoners also started meditating. After this, after 3-4 years the real thief was caught and the police released the Zen master. Police said – forgive us. The Guru said, ‘No, don’t leave me now because my work is not done’. After narrating this story, Osho had said, ‘We are all in jail, in a cell. We are all in a cell of seven by seven, whether it is inside the jail or outside. We cannot come out of the closet until we do our work with integrity.
Vinod Khanna had announced in the press conference
It is also said that at the time Vinod Khanna was turning towards spirituality. During that time differences were also going on with his wife Gitanjali. His wife was angry with this decision of Vinod. Vinod Khanna decided at that time that he would leave the glamor of Mumbai and live in Koregaon Park (where Rajneesh’s ashram was located) in Pune. In the year 1982, Vinod Khanna called a press conference. Apart from Vinod Khanna, his wife Gitanjali and sons Akshay and Rahul were also present in the press conference. This time he made an official announcement that he was leaving the film industry to become a disciple of Guru Rajneesh.
Osho asked – are you ready for retirement?
Vinod Khanna had said in his interview, ‘In my family, four people passed away one after the other in six-seven months, in which my mother and one of my dear sisters were. My roots shook. I started feeling that one day I will die too. In December 1975, I immediately decided that I had to go to Osho,’ After this, when he reached for darshan, Osho asked – are you ready for retirement? Vinod replied – I do not know, but I like your lectures very much. Osho asked him to retire and he immediately agreed.
Swami Vinod Bharti became Vinod Khanna
According to media reports, after going to the shelter of Osho, he changed his name to Swami Vinod Bharti. He also visited many places with Acharya Rajneesh. Vinod Khanna went to America to take refuge in Osho. Vinod used to work as a gardener there. Apart from this, he used to clean toilets and utensils in the ashram.
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Tags: Entertainment Special, Vinod Khanna
FIRST PUBLISHED : March 17, 2023