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Amitabh Bachchan pleaded with Vinod Khanna not to quit Bollywood for Osho, Khanna called a press conference and announced he’s leaving

Vinod Khanna quit the film industry at the height of his success to join Osho's commune in the United States; industry figures such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor tried to dissuade him.

Vinod Khanna quit the film industry in the 1980s, at the height of his success.

Amitabh Bachchan didn’t get in the way of Vinod Khanna’s potential; Khanna became a hurdle in his own evolution. So said senior journalist Bhawana Somaaya, who witnessed the emergence of Bachchan and Khanna’s abrupt decision to quit the film industry and devote himself to the spiritual guru Rajneesh. Khanna lived for several years in Rajneesh’s commune in the United States, effectively ending his career as a leading man and even neglecting his duties as a father and husband. He returned to the industry after the commune disbanded in the late 1980s.

In an interview on the Hindi Rush YouTube channel, Somaaya was asked if Khanna could actually have become the next big Bollywood star had Bachchan not overtaken him. She said that this theory doesn’t hold water, and Bachchan actually pleaded with him to not quit. She said, “Bachchan wasn’t responsible for Khanna’s career, was he? He alone couldn’t have done anything. Khanna was a very good-looking actor; talented, sensitive… Vinod Khanna got lost within himself. He chose to follow Rajneesh. He called a press conference and announced that he was quitting the industry.”

Also read – Ma Anand Sheela reveals how Vinod Khanna was given gardener’s job at Rajneeshpuram, says Osho was the only star there

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She continued, “In fact, Amitabh Bachchan pleaded with him not to go ahead with his decision. Shashi Kapoor also told him to reconsider. Every actor and director told him not to leave, that it would be the wrong thing to do. But he was sure he wanted to leave the industry, and he left. He was there with Osho for a long time, and then he returned, and he was able to restart his career. His career was fine, according to me.”

Vinod Khanna moved to Osho’s ashram in the US at the peak of his success. (Photo: Express Archive)

In an interview with Simi Garewal, Vinod Khanna admitted that his decision to leave was ‘selfish’, but he didn’t regret it. “Unless you’re selfish, you can’t do anything like this. Because it’s your own being that has to find that transcendence,” he said, admitting that his family was ‘unhappy’ when he told them that he’d be leaving. He explained, “Everybody has to travel alone. You come alone, you go alone. You have to travel your path.”

His son, Akshaye Khanna, seemed to endorse his decision to leave everything and everyone behind. In another interview with Simi Garewal, he said, “I’m a great believer in being self-centred, being selfish. Unless you’re happy, you can’t make other people happy. The longer you continue to pretend to live a lie, you start resenting the other person and you start resenting yourself. I think everybody should live for themselves. It takes guts to live for yourself. Very few people can really do it.”

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