Vinod Khanna could have been great competitor to Amitabh had he not bid adieu to films to embrace Spiritual Path
Vinod Khanna could have been great competitor to Amitabh
had he not bid adieu to films to embrace Spiritual Path
Dilip Thakur, Film Historian opens up on late actor Vinod Khanna that had he not left films and embraced spiritual path, be could have been a great competitor to Amitabh Bachchan.
Dilip further recalled that Vinod akur recently had left an indelible mark and his personality was his biggest asset, however, success lay in his walk. There were only two actors who had a great walk on screen; Raaj Kumar and Vinod Khanna. Vinod Khanna walked like a stallion. Take any film of his, especially his films with Mukul Anand such as Mahasangram and Insaaf.
He also recalled villain Ranjeet telling him recently that when Vinod Khanna returned, many filmmakers struck a deal with him and even a lot of them wanted to lend him a helping hand. Ranjeet himself had signed him for Kaarnama.
At the same time, he got Mahesh Bhatt’s Marg featuring Hema Malini and also Feroz Khan’s Dayawan. But Ranjeet had Vinod Khanna’s dates because of knowing each other so well.
Hema Malini and Feroz Khan top had asked for Vinod Khanna’s dates and they helped each other out. In fact, when Vinod Khanna returned, Ranjeet used to go to drop him to his residence in Walkeshwar in South Bombay.
Vinod Khanna received good feedback from the film industry upon his comeback with Mukul Anand’s Insaaf. The next week, he had the release of Raj N Sippy’s Satyamev Jayate.
Vinod Khanna didn’t feel the burn of making a ‘comeback’, in fact, people welcomed him.
Vinod Khanna featured in four films by Gulzar, Mere Apne, Achanak, Meera, and Lekin. He also made a guest appearance in Parichay as Jeetendra’s friend.
The only problem Vinod Khanna had, according to Thakur, was he was an absolute late comer to the sets. People compared who is the superstar; Vinod Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan?
In that comparison, Amitabh Bachchan moved ahead. At that time, a lot of people from within the industry, audience and media were of the opinion that if Vinod Khanna hadn’t taken the spiritual path and left the industry, he could have been a great competitor to Amitabh Bachchan. But in his opinion, Amitabh Bachchan had more versatility than Vinod Khanna. Khanna seemed like a misfit in songs. He didn’t have the dance moves,” Dilip noted.
Khanna lived in Mumbai and learned Marathi. His best film was Achanak. Gulzar repeated him in his films. Khanna worked with Prakash Mehra, Manmohan Desai, and everyone else except Hrishikesh Mukherjee. When Rajesh Khanna passed away, Vinod Khanna looked very disturbed when he came to pay his respects.
News Edit K.V.Raman
