Vinod Khanna.
As October brings around Vinod Khanna's birth anniversary, Mukesh Tyagi, well-known Bollywood actor, corporate honcho, BJP spokesperson and former CEO of Enron India, looks back on the evening, he says changed the actor's life, transitioned Vinod Khanna from Abhineta to Neta.
The narrative around Bollywood actors entering politics often follows a predictable script: star power leveraged by political strategists for quick electoral gains. But the story behind the late superstar Vinod Khanna's move into politics, as Mukesh Tyagi tells it, is grounded, personal and spontaneous. It began not in a party war room but at a social gathering in Mumbai, in a conversation with Tyagi, then a VP at Enron in India.
The story goes back to 27 December 1997, when Sumeet Mehra, son of the legendary filmmaker Prakash Mehra, held his wedding reception with his bride, Martha, at the Hotel Centaur in Juhu, Bombay (now Mumbai). The Centaur was a favourite Bollywood venue, and the guest list mixed cinema and politics. At one table sat Maharashtra's late former Deputy Chief Minister Mr Gopinath Munde, Tyagi, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Rahul Mahajan and Vinod Khanna. Ram Kadam, now an MLA, was also among the guests.
Earlier, on the drive to the venue, Mr Munde had suggested that Tyagi, given his corporate success and public standing, should consider running for Parliament. Tyagi politely declined; he was content with his high profile executive career.
Seated next to Vinod Khanna, whom he knew personally, Tyagi passed the idea on. He recalls telling him:
"Look, Mr Khanna, I am already very well positioned in Enron and doing pretty well. Mr Munde is asking me to contest the MP election. So why don't you contest? You are a well-known face, and you don't have many movies at this point of time."
Khanna smiled, raised his glass and replied with characteristic humour: "Mukesh, I am a jobless actor at this time, but anyway, let me see."
What seemed a casual exchange quickly turned serious. At 7 am the next day, Khanna called Tyagi asking to meet urgently. Driving himself, without a chauffeur, he arrived at Tyagi's Mumbai residence at 9 th floor in the Atlas Building on Nepean Sea Road. After a brief hold-up with strict building security, he came upstairs, and over morning tea the two began mapping out a realistic move into politics.
By evening, according to Tyagi, key political figures had been brought in: Rahul Mahajan; Vivek Moitra, private secretary to senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and a trusted aide to Gopinath Munde; and Ram Kadam, a close friend of Tyagi's who is now a senior MLA and who, Tyagi says, played a key role in Khanna's entry.
Khanna first pictured contesting from South Bombay, as a "Bombay boy". BJP strategist and tall leader late Shri Pramod Mahajan had other plans. Tyagi recalls Mahajan telling him that Khanna could not contest South Bombay because the party's senior leader Jayawantiben Mehta was the candidate there. Mr Mahajan saw that Khanna's Punjabi roots, charisma and mass appeal made Gurdaspur, Punjab, the ideal seat. Khanna, Tyagi says, accepted the move gracefully and without hesitation.
Tyagi and Khanna flew to Delhi to finalise the launch, meeting senior BJP leader Shri Madan Lal Khurana, former Chief Minister of Delhi, who cleared the way for Khanna's parliamentary ticket in Gurdaspur( Punjab).
Khanna threw himself into the election campaign, defying expectations that he would be an absentee celebrity candidate. After winning the seat in 1998, he called Tyagi from Punjab Bhawan in Delhi and insisted on cooking lunch for himself, as thanks, before hosting a celebratory evening.
After the win, Kavita Khanna, his wife, told Tyagi: "Mukesh Tyagi, you are the one who has pushed him into politics, thank you very much."
Khanna went on to win Gurdaspur four times, in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014, and served under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and then Minister of State for External Affairs. When actor Sunny Deol contested the same seat in 2019, Tyagi returned to Gurdaspur to campaign. Speaking to the media there, he said the feedback from voters was clear: Khanna's hard work would carry Deol to a decisive victory. Deol went on to win the seat.
Vinod Khanna practically started living in Gurdaspur and contributed to the speedy development of the constituency.
Beyond the public figure, Tyagi remembers a grounded family man. On one visit to Khanna's home, he recalls, Khanna proudly showed him the trailer of Himalay Putra (1997), the film that launched his son Akshaye Khanna. Akshaye, later a powerful presence in Indian cinema, was then a quiet, shy young man in the room.
Tyagi also recalls a dinner at industrialist Adi Godrej's and Parmeshwar Godrej home with Enron's global leadership, where Rebecca Mark, then head of Enron International, Sanjay Bhatnagar Country Head Enron was struck by Khanna's charismatic looks. Tyagi introduced Vinod Khanna as the Hollywood actor Kevin Costner . High profile Sanjay Bhatnagar, Country Head Enron in India gave an interesting perspective on the construction and challenges facing Dabhol Power Company and LNG terminal.
Whether at the Taj Mahal Hotel, relaxing at the Willingdon Sports Club or talking with international executives, Khanna's charm left a lasting impression across cultures. Tyagi remembers meeting Kavita khanna as often as possible on different occasions with Vinod Khanna
Kavita Khanna (née Daftary), whom Khanna married in 1990, comes from a distinguished family and is a graduate of the London School of Economics. Their relationship began during a turbulent period, after Khanna returned to India from Oregon, USA, where he had stepped away from stardom to live as a disciple, and gardener, of the spiritual leader Osho. She is the founder trustee of the Kavita and Vinod Khanna Foundation, through which she works on socio-economic impact and continues her late husband's legacy.
Akshaye Khanna has always chosen quality over noise, bringing intensity, craft and quiet dignity to the screen, traits he shares with his father. For an actor who debuted under his father's watchful eye in Himalay Putra, his acclaimed turn as Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar (2025) completes a full circle.
Vinod Khanna valued authenticity in acting, spirituality and public life. Seeing Akshaye earn respect on his own merit would, Tyagi believes, have brought a quiet smile to his father's face. Tyagi says that he would impress upon Akshaye to contest from Gurdaspur to carry forward the impressive developmental legacy Knowing his reserved nature Tyagi is hoping against hope to convince him . Alternatively Kavita Khanna who worked shoulder to shoulder in Gurdaspur can be a potential Parliamentary candidate for Gurdaspur . Tyagi says he is equally proud of Akshaye Khanna and prays for his continued success.Tyagi understands political dynamics of Gurdaspur having worked for Actor Sunny Deol's parliamentary election in 2019 Tyagi remembers every person was full of admiration for Vinod Khanna's exemplary contribution to his constituency Gurdaspur. Tyagi says that Vinod Khanna changed the concept that on screen heros can be off screen hero as well truly inspirational story for the future crop of actors switching over to politics
Tyagi's account challenges the idea that celebrity entries into politics are superficial. Nudged by a single dinner-table conversation and sustained by his own dedication, Vinod Khanna showed that a superstar could become a hard-working, ground-level public servant. His bridges in Gurdaspur and his service in two ministries left a legacy that outlasted his screen career.
