‘Vinod Khanna was a restless sort of a spirit’

We caught the filmmaker-writer-lyricist, Gulzar who brought out the best in Vinod Khanna, minutes before he left to attend the actor’s cremation

April 28, 2017 12:42 am | Updated November 29, 2021 01:08 pm IST - Mumbai

Vinod Khanna at the launch of an artistic film 'Shringara' in Chennai in 2003.

Vinod Khanna at the launch of an artistic film 'Shringara' in Chennai in 2003.

I have done a lot of work with him, right from the start. I cast him in Mere Apne, a little after Man Ka Meet. It was his first film as a hero. We became good friends. He even did a very small role in Parichay just so that we could be together on the sets. We met a while after shooting Mere Apne and he asked me what I was doing. “Hum kab shooting kar rahe hain?” he said. I told him there wasn’t even a guest role that I had, just a nominal appearance as Jeetu’s [Jeetendra] friend. “I will come,” he said, “Just tell me the dates.” I adjusted the dates to suit him. Thereafter we regularly worked together. I did Achanak, Lekin, Meera with him. It became a long association.

It was [during] the Achanak shoot that we started calling each other MD. MD became a common name between [producer] Romu Sippy, Vinod, myself and even Shatru (Shatrughan Sinha). People used to wonder what MD was. We never disclosed that to anyone. It became a nice mystery. Farida [Jalal] used to get quite upset: “Ye MD kya hota hai?” I told her “My dear you will have to find out.” MD was actually My Dear. Even now when we would meet we used to address each other as MD. We met a number of times at the airports. When I heard a call from behind—“MD”—I would know it’s him.

The most interesting phase was while doing Meera with him. That was time he was passing through an emotional turmoil. He wanted to leave the industry and go away with Osho. I remember him explaining it to me once: “I can’t but I wish I could play Meera because I can identify with her.” He was in that spiritual phase. He said he was in love with his God, “I just want to be his gardener and nothing more.” It was exactly the same devotion that Meera had for Krishna.

 

I remember his assets being distributed in front of me at Dutt saab’s [Sunil Dutt] Ajanta Arts. He gave away his total editing system to Waman Bhonsle and Guru [Gurudutt Shirali]. He gave away his flat in Pali Hill to his wife.

He had requested everybody to finish the work within a month. There was one Mr Balraj Tah and his film called Jallianwala Bagh, which was originally called Udham Singh. He had gone through a lot of problems. Balraj Sahni was supposed to play a role in his film, he expired. He then took Om Shivpuri. Parikshit [Sahni] left the film, the role for which he requested Vinod Khanna. Shabana [Azmi] left the film. Deepti Naval came in. He somehow collected Rs 80,000 and came to Vinod saying that he had nothing more, he only wanted the shoot to get over. With a smile Vinod put the money back in his hands and asked him to use it for finishing the shoot. I have seen him giving this daan (charity), I have seen the spiritual side of him. He used to tell me how people asked him “you are number one why are you leaving”. And he said number one for what? These calculations looked meaningless to him. And I could see the glow on his face when he said this. The Osho in him. A producer asked him if he was sure he wasn’t coming back. He said so what if he would, he wouldn’t ask him for work. He felt it was all marketing going on [in the industry] and he was right.

He came back and I was getting ready with a film called Lekin. He asked me if there was a role for him. I told that only the main role was left. We—Vinod, producer Hridaynath Mangeshkar and I—met here in this house, upstairs in the bedroom. He said he wasn’t quoting any price, just asked Hridaynath to tell him what he had, when he would pay and give him the schedule. He was doing the film. These kind of things have vanished somewhere. I long for them now. Now I have to weigh people: “Tol ke baat karni pad rahi hai.” His [Vinod] kind of people are missing.

It was the human being in him that was so great and he was accepted back [in the industry] because of that. Look at the variety of roles he did. What all didn’t he do? It doesn’t come from any practice. It was all about becoming different human beings and you can play different kinds of human beings only with having experienced life. If you know life it will give you many variations of living. He knew life so well, so intimately. I don’t see him as a poster or a picture. I see the human being in him.

He then slowly got into politics. Par us se bhi oob gaya tha wo. He was a restless sort of a spirit. However, amongst all the actors who have gone into politics, I find two people who have been devoted. One was Sunil Dutt and other was Vinod Khanna. Both were committed to their parties but I never heard them about the parties. They always talked about the people, what they were doing for the people. They spoke about the problems and the issues—these were more important for both of them.

He was very sweet, a real sweetheart. He was really my dear one. My MD is gone. I am feeling very upset.

As told to Namrata Joshi

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‘He was the only Indian film star I spent time with who didn’t want to talk about himself all the time’ Naseeruddin Shah , actor

We never had anything together in Rihaee (1988) [a film starring both Naseeruddin Shah and Vinod Khanna]. The sections of the film was shot separate, so we didn’t work together in that one. But we did work together in the version of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), where he played Clint Eastwood’s character and I was playing Eli Wallach’s character, which never got made but we spent time together in Jaisalmer. I also worked with him in a film by Mahesh Bhatt, which also never got released. I met him at that time and that was just before he was going to go off to be with Osho.

I never came to know him well at all nor did I work with him too often but he was unique in one sense that he was the only Indian film star I spent time with who didn’t want to talk about himself all the time. I’ve not met another such person in our country.

He was quiet and a generous person. This to me made him an extremely interesting chap. What I felt about him was that he was not interested in the rat race. I think he got higher that what he thought he would. He was in tandem with our own Mr. Bachchan and they were practically synonymous with each other. But then he split. He split at a time when he could’ve gone on but he probably felt that he had reached his potential as an actor. He separated himself from the rat race and that’s what made him an interesting person.

I in fact met him just before he went to America and I wanted him to go because I could see the happiness that it brought to him. I don’t know the man well at all, but these are some assessments I made from a distance. What brought him back to the movies, I have no knowledge of. It could’ve been that he was interested, it could’ve been financial pressure, [that] he saw through Osho, I don’t know what. But I did meet him after he came back. And I think the biggest compliment I could give him is that he’s the only star I’ve met who isn’t self obsessed, that’s saying quite a bit.

He would be most remembered for his wholesome, dignified and unique persona. He was one of the few who didn’t get into any controversy. One couldn’t really call him a versatile actor but he was used well. For example, by Gulzar bhai. For him, he’s done some wonderful work. So it’s always that one’s best work is remembered, the others are forgotten. Here’s hoping that movies like Achanak (1973) and Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) are the ones he would be remembered by. But of course, for all those who knew him, he was a solid citizen that everyone liked.

“He was big-hearted, considerate and caring”Aruna Raje , filmmaker

I think it was ’73 or ’74, when I first met him. My husband and I were making our first film called Shaque (1976). We were from FTII Pune and he was already a major star and it was our first film. So the producer set up a meeting and we met him, [to] narrate the script. He liked what he heard. So he said he would do it. Then we had a few sessions with him about the character and all that went very well. On his first day of shooting he came to the spot and we had already started shooting with Shabana [Azmi]. He saw the whole thing which was very different from the way the film industry worked. It was very organised and we got a small unit and we were shooting in a live location and he suddenly realised it and said, “Look guys, I’m not prepared. Please let me off today, I will go back and I promise you tomorrow I will be here on time and be in my character.” The way Bollywood worked back then was the actors worked in shifts and came for hours and took on the persona and did whatever they did and moved on. They weren’t really into the character. But he got what we were actually doing and he had to play somebody. So the next day he came back and was fully prepared and spent the entire day and was in character. In fact, even when not required he was there with us and spent time with the unit and brought chocolates for everyone.

We were planning to do another film with him after that but then he wanted to go and be with Osho. He went to the U.S. and spent time with Rajneesh and then he came back. By that time my life had taken a turn. I had lost my nine-

year-old daughter to cancer and my marriage had broken up. I was planning to make a film, because that’s all I knew – to make a film. I took a small loan from NFDC and I got Hema Malini and Naseeruddin Shah in the film. Vinod had come back from Osho and I asked him if he wanted to do the film and he heard it and said, “Of course”. This was 1986-87 I think. It was a carpenter’s role, one from Rajasthan. This was a women-centric film and about the double standards of the society. He actually [defined] in the climax what ‘mardaangi’ is and what [it’s] supposed to be. [It’s] not a man who acts macho and fights around but is like Shankar bhagwan, who stands and faces adversities. That was Vinod for me.

He was heading the FTII government council and was president of the body. There was a strike and he handled that. He was also on a spiritual path, searching for something. I was on a different path, also a spiritual one. We used to often, from time to time, exchange notes, talk about life. He was very dear to me. It’s heartbreaking that he had to suffer so much. It’s one thing that we all have to go but why did he have to suffer so much?

I wasn’t with him during his last few days. I was very tied up with something I am doing currently. I kept thinking I will go tomorrow, day after, and then postponing. I know he was not meeting visitors but I sent a message to Kavita. I’ve known her since she was a child and I’ve seen her grow up and fall in love with Vinod. I’ve seen their courtship and spent time with them. My autobiography which is just coming out. It’s called Freedom. I’ve talked about Vinod in that.

When we were dubbing Rihaee (1988), I was worried about how am I going to make my first print and I was a little preoccupied. He literally cornered me in the studio. He was a big guy and I’m a petite person. He put his hand on me and said, “Look, you got to tell me what’s bothering you”. I said, “No, Vinod. I need money for my print and what other resources can I go to, to keep raising money for the film.” He went to his car and got big ward of 30,000 bucks and put in my hand. I took the money, made my first print and then paid him back over a year. The point is he was so big-hearted, considerate and caring.

As a person he would be remembered for his goodness. People said all sorts of things about him but the side I got to see was all goodness. When we were shooting in that small village in Gujarat, normally an actor would have a make-up man, a hairdresser, an attendant, but Vinod came along from Ahmedabad airport, carrying only a bag. Even there, when we were not shooting he would lie on a khatiya and be chilling. Who does that?

He made a difference to my life. At that time I needed all the support that I could get. He took peanuts for my film compared to what he was charging. He really wanted to support somebody who was genuinely making a film and make a good one. That is how Vinod was.

As told to Kennith Rosario

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