By: Omair Alavi Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna was not just another veteran; in the 70s he gave tough competition to Amitabh Bachchan the reigning superstar of the era. Along with Shatrughan Sinha, the three were known as the Action Men of Bollywood but at his prime, Khanna took a break that damaged his career a…
SAMAA | Omair Alavi – Posted: Apr 27, 2017 | Last Updated: 4 years ago
By: Omair Alavi
Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna was not just another veteran; in the 70s he gave tough competition to Amitabh Bachchan the reigning superstar of the era. Along with Shatrughan Sinha, the three were known as the Action Men of Bollywood but at his prime, Khanna took a break that damaged his career a lot. In the late 80s, he made a comeback with multiple hits including Dayavan, Chandni, Jurm but had to make way for younger heroes – the Khans – in the succeeding decade. For someone who started his career in the late 60s in a supporting role, Khanna came a long way. His last flick Dilwale featured him opposite his Kachchay Dhaage colleague Kabir Bedi and the two died after facing each other just like they had done in the hit from the 70s. Vinod Khanna leaves behind a legacy of hits, memorable songs along with his two talented actor sons Rahul and Akshaye. Let’s pay a tribute to the veteran actor through his songs that are still popular despite the passage of time.
Koi Hota Jisko Apna – Mere Apne
Gulzar’s flick revolved around student politics and pitted Vinod Khanna opposite Shatrughan Sinha long before they achieved stardom. Here, he films a Kishore Kumar song which was one of the first, considering the two collaborated on many hit songs afterwards.
Waada Karle Saajna – Haath Ki Safayi
In this Prakash Mehra flick, Vinod Khanna played the elder brother of Randhir Kapoor but he had enough time to romance Simi Garewal who played his wife and RK’s bhabi. It was one of the many numbers sung by Mohammad Rafi in Vinod Khanna’s first innings as an actor.
Anhoni Ko Honi Kardein – Amar, Akbar, Anthony
The title track of Manmohan Desai’s classic has Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna playing men in disguise so that they can rescue their brides to be from the villain’s den. Vinod’s one-man bandmaster became a hit during the 70s and if one thinks of him even today, the image of him dancing with so many instruments tied to his body comes up.
Saathiya – Insaan
This Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle number was an inspired version of Western song Angelo but when you watch Vinod Khanna and Reena Roy interact, you forget all that. The sexy pair looked fresh and managed to captivate the audience with their performances.
Zindagi To Bewafa Hai – Muqaddar Ka Sikandar
Now that Vinod Khanna is no more, no song can pay tribute to him better than this version of Rotay Huay Aatay Hain Sab. According to director Prakash Mehra’s words, Vinod is now in a better place with his love, death!
Qurbani Qurbani – Qurbani
Qurbani was the biggest hit of 1980 where Vinod Khanna played second fiddle to producer director Feroze Khan. In this bromance song, the two dance their heart out in disguise and manage to make a place in the hearts of the listeners with catchy lyrics.
Chodo Sanam – Kudrat
Before he took a break from films to move to United States for religious reasons, Vinod Khanna was considered the toughest competition to Amitabh Bachchan. In Kudrat, he starred with Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini and danced like never before in a song that still seems fresh!
Dil Main Ho Tum – Satyamev Jayate
And then came the second innings when Khanna returned to play hero and succeeded. He might not be seen lip syncing the song here but he is the reason why people still remember the Bappi Lahiri version.
Lagi Aaj Sawan – Chandni
Yash Chopra’s flick reunited the Amar and Akbar of Bollywood in a classic movie revolving around the heroine played by Sri Devi. In this Suresh Wadekar song, one can see the emotions required from the actor come out strongly – Vinod Khanna at his best!
Jab Koi Baat Bigar Jaye – Jurm
Kumar Sanu was the next big thing after Kishore Kumar’s death and he playbacked for Kishore’s collaborator in this song. Vinod Khanna continued to act in films after this flick but was mostly reduced to supporting roles as father or senior citizen. Let this number be a reminder to the great actor he was in his hey days.
