In the late 1960s, the term “superstar” was first used in the Indian film industry to describe Rajesh Khanna, who dominated the box office. However, his rule was brief, as his slew of hits came to an end by the mid-1970s. Around this time, two rising actors competed for the vacant superstar title. The only who ultimately claimed it was Amitabh Bachchan, though many considered his “only competition” a even bigger actor. We are talking about none other than Vinod Khanna.
Vinod Khanna started his career in Bollywood in 1968 at the age of 22, a year before Amitabh made his debut. It was started in the 1971 hit Mera Gaon Desh that Khanna became successful and started to be considered the next big thing.
Over the next few years, he gave several hits (total 33) including films like Mere Apne, Achanak, Imtihaan and more. Until that time, he was considered a bigger star than his contemporaries like Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor. After gaining stardom, the actor started charging Rs 35 lakh, regardless of whether he shot for a day or 20 days.
Unfortunately, at the peak of his career, Vinod Khanna decided to say goodbye to Bollywood and changed the direction of his career. He took refuge in Osho’s Ashram in Pune. For the next four years, he lived at the ashram and returned to India in 1968 and resumed his film career.
After a sabbatical, the actor continued to act and deliver hits but couldn’t recapture his stardom from the 70s. His last film was the 2015-released Shah Rukh Khan’s superhit film Dilwale. In 2017, the veteran actor was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He was hospitalised after suffering from severe dehydration and passed away on April 27.
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