Vinod Khanna

Vinod Khanna broke into Hindi cinema playing villains before his looks and presence pushed him to the front rank of leading men. Through the 1970s he was one of the industry's biggest stars — often cast alongside Amitabh Bachchan in multi-hero blockbusters like Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, holding the screen against the biggest name in the business.

By the early 1980s he was at his commercial peak, with no obvious reason to stop. Which is exactly what made what happened next so shocking.

A committed follower of the guru Rajneesh — Osho — Vinod Khanna abandoned his career in 1982, at the height of his fame, to join the movement. He moved to Osho's commune in Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, and for around five years lived as a sannyasin, reportedly doing ordinary manual work — gardening and washing dishes among them.

For a superstar to vanish into a commune, trading fame and money for menial chores and spiritual seeking, was almost without precedent in Indian cinema. It defined him as much as any film.

He returned to India and to films in the late 1980s and, remarkably, rebuilt his career — proving that stardom could survive a five-year disappearance. He worked steadily again through the 1990s and remained a familiar, dignified presence in Hindi cinema for the rest of his life, later appearing in hits like Dabangg (2010).

The comeback cemented a reputation for doing exactly as he pleased, on his own timetable, whatever the cost to conventional stardom.

Vinod Khanna reinvented himself once more, entering politics with the BJP. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gurdaspur, Punjab, four times, and served as a Union Minister — a substantial second career far from the film sets.

He died of cancer on 27 April 2017, aged 70, having lived at least three distinct lives — matinee idol, spiritual seeker, and statesman — with a restlessness few of his peers ever matched.