Veteran actor, politician Vinod Khanna passes away at 70

Veteran Bollywood actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on Thursday at the age of 70. The actor had been battling cancer for years.

Khanna, a BJP member of Lok Sabha from Punjab’s Gurdaspur constituency, was admitted to Sir H.N Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Girgaon, Mumbai a few weeks back after he complained of dehydration.

At the time, a picture of the frail looking actor surrounded by family members also subsequently went viral on social media, prompting angry posts from supporters asking people to respect his privacy.

Khanna, who was suffering from advanced bladder carcinoma, breathed his last at a Mumbai hospital at 11:20 am.

The iconic actor was born in Peshawar on October 6, 1946. His family moved to Bombay (Mumbai) after the partition.

Khanna, known for his macho image, went on to star in over 100 films in a career spanning almost five decades. He made his debut in the 1968 film ‘Mann Ka Meet’, where he had essayed the role of a villain.

He continued playing negative roles until he was offered the leading role in ‘Hum Tum Aur Woh’. Since then, the parliamentarian has acted in several classics like ‘Mere Apne’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Insaaf’, ‘Parvarish’ and ‘Muqqadar Ka Sikander’ among others.

His last film outing was 2015 film ‘Dilwale’, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Prior to that, he starred in both ‘Dabanng’ films with Salman Khan.

At the peak of his career in 1980, Khanna quit acting to join Osho’s ashram. He returned to acting after a five year gap and went on to win the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

The actor was married twice and is survived by sons Rahul and Akshaye with first wife Geetanjali and a son and daughter with second wife Kavita. In his last days, he was surrounded by all his children and wife Kavita.

He stayed away from limelight for the better part of 2016 due to his deteriorating health.