ACTOR
Vinod Khanna
- Known for
- Dabangg (2010), Dabangg 2 (2012), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013)
151 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Vinod Khanna is an actor best known for Dabangg, Dabangg 2 and Amar Akbar Anthony.
Vinod Khanna: 21 Facts About Characters and Roles
- #008
Vinod Khanna was signed for Desh Premee but chose to withdraw because of his joining Rajneesh; he was replaced by Shatrughan Sinha (who had earlier been signed for the role of Parikshat Sahni), after which Rishi Kapoor signed the film and was then asked to leave, and finally Navin Nischol.
- #009
Raj Khosla initially wanted Vinod Khanna for Shatrughan Sinha's role in Dostana, but decided not to cast him because he felt the audience would not believe that Zeenat Aman would reject Vinod Khanna for Amitabh.
- #013
Vinod Khanna's peak period as a lead hero in Hindi films was 1973-82; even in 1987-95 he delivered successful films as the lead, both in solo-hero films and in films with more than two heroes. In 1968-72 he appeared as a supporting actor in hits such as Purab Aur Pachhim (1971), Mastana (1970) and Elaan (1971) and in the Rajesh Khanna films Sachaa Jhutha (1970) and Aan Milo Sajna (1970).
- #016
In the films led by Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna always had either the antagonist role or a supporting role, not even a parallel lead; these films were Sachaa Jhutha (1970), Aan Milo Sajna (1970), Prem Kahani (1975), Kudrat (1981) and Rajput (1982), and all five were super hits. Because of the closeness he shared with Rajesh Khanna, Vinod accepted his roles in "Kudrat" and "Rajput" even after he had himself become a successful solo lead.
- #017
Although Vinod Khanna had quit acting in films in 1982, the films released in 1982 in which he played the main lead, such as Raj Mahal, Taaqat and the multi-starrer Rajput in which he played a supporting role to leads Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra, were super hits at the box office, while his other films such as Insaan and Daulat failed.
- #019
Vinod Khanna, whose career closely resembled Amitabh Bachchan's, was part of multi-starrer films in which he played the main lead during the 1973-1982 period. Both actors have fewer solo-hero films than Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra and Dev Anand.
- #020
He played supporting roles in Sunil Dutt's starring vehicles Reshma Aur Shera and Nehle Pe Dehla, and shared a parallel lead with Sunil Dutt in Daku Aur Jawan.
- #024
Vinod Khanna made 54 solo-hero films, 27 of which were hits, and 47 multi-starrer films, 29 of which achieved box-office success.
- #027
Between 1968 and 1973, films such as Mere Apne, Hum Tum Aur Woh, Parchaiyaan, Dhamkee and Aarop featured songs picturised only on Vinod Khanna. Between 1968 and 1973 he acted in 32 films, but only 11 of those 32 films had a song picturised on him. Of these 32 films, he appeared in a supporting negative role in 12, as the sole lead hero in 12, and in a multi-starrer cast in 8.
- #038
Vinod Khanna starred in the completed but shelved Integrated Films production "Zooni" (Habba Khatoon) (1990). Muzaffar Ali had tried to make the film in 1982 as "Daman" (Darshan) with Zeenat Aman and Suresh Oberoi. In the relaunched version, the cast included Shammi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna (who replaced Jackie Shroff; Raj Babbar had also previously taken the same role before being replaced for unknown reasons), Dimple Kapadia, Dalip Tahil, Mohanlal Aima, Rinke Khanna, Shaukat Kaifi, Sushma Seth, Leela Naidu, Pran, Raghi Khosla and Pammi Raina, with music by Khayyam and Ryuichi Sakamoto, produced and directed by Muzaffar Ali. The same subject had been made in 1979 as "Habba Khatoon" with Raj Kapoor, Sanjay Khan and Zeenat Aman, produced by Roshan Wadhera and directed by B. R. Chopra; after a dispute between Sanjay Khan and B. R. Chopra, Sanjay Khan took over the direction, and the film was shelved. Mehboob Khan and Dilip Kumar had announced a film titled "Habba Khatoon" in the 1960s, starring Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu and Mukri.
- #052
Vinod Khanna starred in the shelved film "Shatruta" (Vishpot) (1981-1990). The cast included Vinod Khanna, Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah (who replaced Sanjeev Kumar), Suresh Oberoi (who replaced Amjad Khan), Kulbushan Kharbanda and Ranjeet, with music by Dr. Kalyanji Anandji and direction by Mahesh Bhatt. Producer Sandeep Sethi approached Vinod for the film, and it was Vinod who insisted on signing Mahesh Bhatt; Sandeep agreed and signed Mahesh. When 75% of the film was complete, Vinod decided to leave India and join Rajneesh in America, abandoning the film mid-race. He apologized profusely to Sandeep and even returned most of the money spent on the film. After Vinod left for America, Sandeep kept pleading with him to return so the film could be completed and released, and had several phone conversations with him; Vinod said he would see what he could do and promised nothing. It was Mahesh Bhatt who told Sandeep he would fly to America and personally speak to Vinod about returning to finish the film, the only problem being that Sandeep had to pay for Mahesh's plane ticket. Mahesh went to see Vinod for a month and kept telling Sandeep on the phone that everything would work out and that he would convince Vinod. When Mahesh returned to India, he told Sandeep he had good news for him; when they met, Mahesh stated that he had told Vinod not to bother with or worry about the producers in Bombay, to fill his spiritual feelings and not worry about anything. Sandeep was stunned; after sending Mahesh to America and paying for it, he had returned and completely changed his stance. Vinod promised Sandeep that if he returned, he would finish his film first. When Vinod finally returned in 1986, it was Mahesh who began playing games, promising to shoot the remaining portions of the film and then cancelling at the last minute, constantly keeping Sandeep waiting. Eventually Sandeep grew tired of it and finished the film on his own. For unforeseen reasons, the film could not be released despite being completed. The title Shatruta was considered unlucky; years earlier, Shadow-N-Screen's film of the same name, "Shatruta" (1975), had already been shelved, starring Shashi Kapoor, Zaherra, Asha Sachdec, Amjad Khan and Om Prakash, with music by Bappi Lahiri and direction by M. N. Yasin.
- #063
In 1988, Sanjay Khan launched his most expensive film, AAA Films' "Sur Zameen". It starred Vinod Khanna and Anil Kapoor (later replaced by Sanjay Khan), Meenakshi Sheshadri, Sonam, Anupam Kher, Amrish Puri and Dara Singh, was written by Dr. Masoom Raza and had music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Midway through the film, Vinod Khanna stopped giving dates, which caused delays. When the film began, Anil Kapoor started creating problems by insisting that he and Vinod Khanna swap roles; Anil felt Vinod had the better role. Anil insisted that Vinod Khanna play his role. Anil left the film. Sonam and Sanjay Khan had a major confrontation on set and she left the film. After all these production difficulties, Sanjay finally shelved the film. He began focusing on television series.
- #069
Saibee Sabharwal was long ago Vinod Khanna's best friend. Vinod suggested that Saibee launch two films and take him as the hero of the films. Saibee agreed and started two productions. He began "Haqdaar" (1975), starring Vinod Khanna and Reena Roy, with music by Sonik-Omi and produced and directed by Saibee Sabharwal. In time, Vinod decided to quit cinema and go to America. This caused Saibee to suffer incredible losses. To compensate for Saibee's loss, Vinod gave him an 800-square-metre flat to live in free of charge. Because of his financial loss, Saibee had to work as an assistant to Mahesh Bhatt in order to survive. Vinod finally returned five years later and asked Saibee to stop working for Mahesh Bhatt and join him. Saibee did so immediately. That was when Vinod asked Saibee to vacate the flat that had been given to him five years earlier. Khanna argued that it was only temporary, as Saibee refused to move out, saying that even Vinod Khanna could not ask him to leave. This caused their friendship to break down. Saibee cried, saying he had three children and would end up on the streets if Vinod threw him out.
- #091
Vinod Khanna played the lead in an untitled film that was shelved in 1976. The leads were Vinod Khanna, Neetu Singh and Aruna Irani, with music by Kalyanji Anandji, producer Ameer Qadeer and director S. M. Abbas.
- #092
In 1976, Vinod Khanna acted in Vaishali Films' untitled film. The leads were Vinod Khanna, Moushumi Chatterjee and Deven Verma, with producer Dinanath Shastri and director Basu Chatterjee.
- #102
Aishwarya Rai was to be paired with Ajay Devgan in a 2002 film to be produced by Amitabh Bachchan's production company ABCL. The then-untitled project was based on a family-oriented story in which Jaya Bachchan played Ash's mother, and Vinod Khanna and Mrs. Bachchan were reported to play a separated couple. The film was shelved.
- #113
Vinod Khanna starred in an untitled 1978 film from Vikram Movie International that was shelved. The cast included Vinod Khanna and Amjad Khan, with music by Shankar Jaikishen, producer V. K. Sood, and writer-director Jyoti Swaroop.
- #115
In 1989, Vinod Khanna appeared in an untitled film from F. A. Films. The cast included Vinod Khanna, Sanjay Dutt and Mohsin Khan, with producer Farooq Nadiadwala and writer-director J. P. Dutta.
- #120
Vinod Khanna signed a contract for Namak Halaal in 1978. He withdrew from the contract because he joined Rajneesh. Raj Babbar and Deepak Parashar were to play the role at different times. In the end Shashi Kapoor took on the role.
- #135
Vinod Khanna played the lead in the shelved Moviesthan's film "Aar Ya Paar" (1988). Starring Sunil Dutt and Vinod Khanna; Written by Bharat B. Bhalla; Director Sameer Malkan.
- #138
After the release of Janbaaz, in October 1986 Feroz Khan decided to launch Yalgaar with himself, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sridevi, Anuradha Patel, Saeed Jaffery, Shakti Kapoor and Amjad Khan. Sonam was screen-tested for the film in early 1987. The film dealt with a group of commandos on a desperate mission. A song was also recorded by Kalyanji Anandji in October 1986. The film was written by Aziz Qaisi, who also wrote the lyrics with Indeevar. Raam Shetty was the action director. Feroz described the film as one against destructive and corrupt forces and elements threatening India's unity, integrity and stability. In the summer of 1987 Feroz Khan decided to shelve Yalgaar and direct Dayavan instead. After Dayavan's shooting was completed, in June 1988 Feroz Khan once again started Yalgaar. The star cast was now Feroz Khan, Vinod Khanna (replacing Jackie Shroff), Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Anuradha Patel, Shakti Kapoor, Amjad Khan, Saeed Jaffery and Paresh Rawal. Anil was upset that Vinod Khanna replaced Jackie Shroff. Anil was having problems with Vinod Khanna because of Sanjay Khan's production "Sur Zameen". Anil Kapoor wanted to swap roles with Vinod in "Sur Zameen". Vinod was cast opposite Sonam and Anil opposite Meenakshi. Feroz Khan decided to shelve this Yalgaar and start another film of the same name. However, the new Yalgaar would have a different story and star cast.
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