Bollywood’s original debonair hero succumbs to cancer at 70
Veteran actor began his career in 1960s and acted in more than 140 films
MUMBAI: Actor Vinod Khanna, once acknowledged as one of Bollywood’s most handsome heroes, passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Thursday at the age of 70. He was suffering from advanced cancer of the bladder.
Officials at the HN Reliance Hospital said he breathed his last at 11.20 am, weeks after he was hospitalised . “Doctors and family were expecting a recovery but somehow his condition deteriorated,” a hospital source said.
Millions of Indians had reacted with shock and sympathy after a photograph of a frail and haggard Khanna in the hospital was leaked on social media weeks ago.
Khanna, born in Peshawar in present-day Pakistan, was a sitting BJP MP from the Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab.
Khanna, who studied commerce at Mumbai’s Sydenham College before moving into acting, started his Bollywood career in the roles of villains in late 1960s. But once he started playing the lead roles, Khanna became a darling of the masses and is credited with making macho look good.
After giving several hit films, Khanna quit films in 1982 – when he was at the peak of his career – and joined controversial guru Osho Rajneesh. Though Khanna returned after five years and did more films, other actors had by then moved in to fill the vacuum.
Khanna acted in more than 146 films. He was adept at handling both romantic and action films with ease, getting under the skin of his characters comfortably.
Khanna was married to Geetanjali between 1971 and 1985 and has two sons with her, actors Rahul Khanna and Akshaye Khanna. He married Kavita Khanna in 1990 and has two children with her — Sakshi and Shraddha.