Vinod Khanna's Bollywood journey: From angry young man to angry father

Vinod Khanna PicPTIHe came into prominence playing an angry young man in a 1970s classic and one of his last major appearances was as an angry implacable father in a 2010 blockbuster but whatever role Vinod Khanna played good bad or even supporting he ended up making his presence felt Can you think of any other Bollywood hero who won applause for beating up Amitabh Bachchan on screenHe entered Bollywood as a villain but his imposing height and physique crowned with a sculpted but expressive face and discernible intensity he was not fated to remain one for long Given a break by Sunil Dutt in Man ka Meet 1968 Khanna showed his metier in 1970 playing a dedicated police officer in both Mastana and Sachaa JhuthaaThe year 1971 was a watershed He appeared in a dozen films including the acclaimed Mere Apne where as Shyamu he stood his ground against a bombastic Shatrughan Sinha while displaying the vulnerability of the angry young man in that pensive song Koi hota jisko apna He went on to play another police inspector in Shammi Kapoorstarrer JaaneAnjane and vicious dacoit Jabbar Singh in Mera Gaon Mera Desh facing DharmendraThe year also saw him in his first role as hero in Hum Tum aur Woh while his role as Shyamu figured as footage in Hrishikesh Mukherjees Guddi about a young girls infatuation with the film industryThe next role that bought him to prominence was as a military officer on the run after killing his wifes paramour in Achanak 1973 one of the Bollywood adaptations of the Nanavatty caseThere was no looking back Usually cast as a police officer or a criminal he proved he could display a softer side too as he did in Imtihaan 1974 playing an idealistic college professor trying to reform a group of unruly students The song Ruk Jaana Nahi is again memorableAppearing in some of the most famous Hindi films Khanna always left his mark whether by himself or against established or upcoming stars Shammi Kapoor Rajesh Khanna Dharmendra Shashi Kapoor Jeetendra Amitabh Bachchan and Feroz Khan down to Salman Khan and Shah Rukh KhanEven in songs not picturised on him he stands out take Haal kya hai dilon ka in Anokhi Ada 1973 or Dil to Hai Dil in Muqaddar ka Sikandar 1978In the first part of his career he went on to essay some particularly memorable roles as the stern dutiful Inspector Amar in Amar Akbar Anthony 1977 where he thrashed up an irreverent Anthony played by Amitabh but unbent towards to the end to appear as a cheery oneman band in the climatic Honi ko anhoni kar de as conartist Ajay in Hera Pheri 1976 again opposite Amitabh another Amar but on the other side of the law in Qurbani 1980 where he eventually lives up to the films name as a workaholic railway engineer in The Burning Train 1980 and an understanding doctor in reincarnation love story Kudrat 1981 where he did not let Raaj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna eclipse himKhanna who had become a disciple of godman Rajneesh in the mid1970s then took a five year break notwithstanding he was at the peek of his career He moved to the godmans ashram in the US where he reportedly was also a dishwasher and gardenerHe returned to Bollywood in 1987 where his career took off again Mostly seen in action films usually in his trademark police inspector role he paired well with Meenakshi Seshadri in Satyamev Jayate and Dimple Kapadia in Insaaf both 1987But what signalled his comeback in full vigour was Feroz Khanhelmed Dayavan 1988 where he played a crime don and shared a sparkling chemistry with Madhuri Dixit sharing a long kiss and the sensuous Aaj Phir Tum Pe He did well with Madhuri in MahaSangram 1990 also a film noted for Gulshan Grover in a positive role His other notable performances included in Chandni 1989 Lekin 1990 and Jurm 1990Khanna who had only won one Filmfare Award for best supporting actor despite being nominated twice as best actor and once more as best supporting actor was conferred a Lifetime Achievement award in 1999 After this along with his flourishing political career which saw him rise to Minister of State for External Affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government his output slackened But he never abandoned the film industry holding his own against Salman in the Dabangg seriesHis last film was Dilwale starring Shah Rukh and Kajol in 2015Ruk jaana nahi to kahi haar ke