Kamal Ghorui
At the height of his stardom, Vinod Khanna made a startling choice, he stepped away from the glamour of Bollywood, joined Osho’s commune in the United States, and took on a simple life, even working as a gardener at Rajneeshpuram. His sudden exit from the film industry created a vacuum that was soon filled by the meteoric rise of Amitabh Bachchan. According to Osho, however, this shift deeply affected Khanna.Swami Shailendra Saraswati, Osho’s brother, shared insights into Khanna’s emotional state during his time at the commune. He recalled that the actor often appeared withdrawn and unhappy, leading many to assume he was missing his wife and young sons. But Osho saw things differently.Osho’s brother said in an earlier interview with Hindi Rush, “He saw that Vinod was sad, and asked people around him what was bothering him. They said he missed his family. But Osho wasn’t convinced. He said, ‘No, he’s not missing his family. Tell him to go back to India and fight an election against Amitabh Bachchan.’”“I had never imagined he had any political aspirations,” Saraswati mentioned, “But Osho had that kind of insight. He could see what even the person themselves couldn’t. He knew that in Vinod’s subconscious, there was a deep sense of loss, not of family, but of status. He had left Bollywood when he was on top. And in his absence, Amitabh Bachchan had become the number one star.”He further added, “Vinod’s conscious mind was trying to convince him he was a noble man who missed his family. But Osho said what he really missed was his position, his place at the top. He was envious of Bachchan, and that pain was manifesting in other ways.”Khanna eventually returned to India in the late 1980s, re-entering films with renewed determination and delivering several successful projects. He later ventured into politics, serving as a Union Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, 2017, after battling advanced bladder cancer, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate with generations of cinema lovers.
