Vinod Khanna

Indian film actor, director and politician (1946-2017) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films;[2] while also being a notable spiritual seeker.[3] In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awards. Khanna was one of the highest-paid stars of his times, along with Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.[4] He gave competition to Amitabh Bachchan's box office run in late 1970s to early 1980s before taking break from films.[5] After joining politics, he became the MP from the Gurdaspur constituency between 1998–2009 and 2014–2017. In July 2002, Khanna became the minister for Culture and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. Six months later, he became the Minister of State for External Affairs.[6]

Quick facts: Vinod Khanna, Minister of State for Culture &...
Vinod Khanna
VinodKhanna
Khanna at 7th CAFTPG Awards in 2012
Minister of State for Culture & Tourism
In office
July 2002  January 2003
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of State for External Affairs
In office
January 2003  May 2004
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
26 May 2014  27 April 2017
Preceded byPratap Singh Bajwa
Succeeded bySunil Jakhar
In office
1998–2009
Preceded bySukhbuns Kaur
Succeeded byPratap Singh Bajwa
ConstituencyGurdaspur
Personal details
Born(1946-10-06)6 October 1946
Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British India
Died27 April 2017(2017-04-27) (aged 70)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Spouses
  • Geetanjali Taleyar Khanna
    (m. 19711985)
  • Kavita Daftary
    (m. 19902017)
[1]
Children4 (including Akshaye Khanna and Rahul Khanna)
Alma materSydenham College, Mumbai
Occupation
AwardsDadasaheb Phalke Award (2018)
Years active1968–2015
WorksFull list
Close

Khanna made his film debut in 1968, and initially acted in supporting and antagonistic roles; as an angry young man in the movie Mere Apne,[7] as the main villain[8] in the blockbuster action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh,[9] and as the military officer turned fugitive[10] in the critically acclaimed movie Achanak, which was a film based on the events of K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra.[11][12]

In 1982, at the peak of his film career, Khanna temporarily took a break from the film industry to follow his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh.[3] After a 5-year hiatus, he returned to the Hindi film industry with two hit films – Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate.[13] In his later film career, Khanna played several memorable roles as a father in blockbuster movies such as Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010) and Dabangg 2 (2012).[14]

Khanna has been posthumously awarded India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2018 by the Government of India at 65th National Film Awards.