Veteran actress Saira Banu reminisces Vinod Khanna on his 77th birth anniversary.
Veteran actress Saira Banu reminisces Vinod Khanna on his 77th birth anniversary.
Veteran actress Saira Banu went down memory lane as she reminisced Vinod Khanna her Aarop co-star on his 77th birth anniversary.
She reconceptualized the day Vinod Khanna ‘absconded’ from the set of Atma Ram’s Aarop when Dilip Kumar dropped in to meet Saira. She had requested Dilp to visit her before taking his flight to Delhi.This was in 1973 when Saira with Vinod and Johnny Walker was rehesrsing for a scene in Aarop.Vinod disappeared somewhere.
Infact, she looked upon the late actor as a thorough gentleman as he ensured that women working in his film reached home safely after work.
Saira shared while posting a poster on instagram that soon after Vinod left the sets? Atmaramji sent assistants to look for him so that we could go ahead with the shot. Vinod took pretty long to come onto the set and Sahib had already left.
When Vinod returned, Saira asked him about his whereabouts. “Vinod laughed and said ‘Oh! Boy! He shared do you think I can act and perform while Dilipji, ‘The Master Of Acting’, is watching? I would be shaking with nervousness! So I absconded!”
One day amid the shoot of the film, Saira Banu had to send her car home, and coincidently, the film’s director called pack-up early that day. So, instead of letting her wait for her car, Vinod Khanna offered Saira his car.
Saira Banu, is among the highest paid stars of the 60s, who gave it all up to singularly become Mrs Dilip Kumar
Saira added that Vinod always ensured that we ladies on the sets had comfort levels while going home from the studio. One day, Vinod sent his car back home for some important work, and unexpectedly director Atmaramji finished shooting much earlier than expected. He had a perky tiny Volkswagen and saw that her car had not arrived, he then looked at all the paraphernalia of needy things she carried with her and immediately offered his car to drive her home safely. She further said, ‘Mera Itna Saaman Kahan Aayega, Tumahari Beautiful Choti Si Gaadi Main.’ So he said he will wait until her car arrives. Such a chivalrous man he was,” narrated Saira.
At the peak of his career, Vinod Khanna quit showbiz and became a follower of spiritual guru, Osho Rajneesh. He frequented Pune’s Osho International Meditation Resort (Osho Ashram), and in 1982, he shifted to Rajneeshpuram in Oregon in the US to be with his guru. His decision to quit movies left the entire Hindi film industry sad. Saira even tried to dissuade him from his decision, but nothing changed.
She wrote in her social media account that “Vinod, at the peak of his career, had become a disciple of Osho and from 1975 onwards, he had taken a break from films to follow his Guru. At that time, she told him many a times that he was one of the brightest stars of today and everyone knows he will scale tremendous heights in his career. She continued that he looked promising and shouldn’t go. Why was he intending to take this hiatus?’ The entire industry was crestfallen at this move.
Saira Banu also recalled sharing a good rapport with Vinod’s wives, Geetanjali and Kavita. She remembered it was a joy to see him and his wife Geetanjali while we shot outdoors at Lonavala, all of us lived together and had fun times. Later on, when he married Kavita, his second wife, they always visited us on occasions, particularly on our ‘Silver Wedding Anniversary’ and mingled so wonderfully as one of our own family,” added Saira, while concluding, “We miss him!”
News Edit K.V.Raman
