Amitabh Bachchan Urged Vinod Khanna To Not Leave Bollywood Before He Announced His Departure To Join Osho

Vinod Khanna's decision to walk away from Bollywood stunned the entire nation. According to veteran journalist Bhawana Somaaya, Khanna’s exit wasn’t due to any competition from Amitabh Bachchan.

Vinod Khanna's decision to walk away from a thriving Bollywood career in the late 1970s stunned the entire nation. According to veteran journalist Bhawana Somaaya, Khanna’s exit wasn’t due to any competition from Amitabh Bachchan, as often speculated, but rather a personal choice to follow the spiritual path. Khanna famously left Bollywood at the peak of his fame to join spiritual leader Rajneesh’s commune, a decision that derailed his promising trajectory as a leading man. 

Amitabh Bachchan was not responsible for Vinod Khanna's exit

During a conversation on the Hindi Rush YouTube channel, Somaaya, who closely witnessed the rise of both Bachchan and Khanna, debunked the popular theory that Khanna’s career was overshadowed by Bachchan. Instead, she highlighted that it was Khanna’s own decision to leave the industry. “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,” she said in the interview. 

Amitabh Bachchan asked Vinod Khanna to reconsider his decision

Somaaya further shared that it wasn’t just Bachchan but many of Khanna's peers who urged him to reconsider his departure. “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,” she added.  

Vinod Khanna on his decision to leave Bollywood

After spending several years in Rajneesh's commune in the U.S., Khanna eventually returned to the film industry in the late 1980s, picking up where he left off. “His career was fine, according to me,” Somaaya concluded. 

In a candid interview with Simi Garewal, Khanna himself acknowledged that his decision to leave was driven by a deep, personal need for spiritual fulfillment, admitting it was a ‘selfish’ move.  

“Unless you’re selfish, you can’t do anything like this. Because it’s your own being that has to find that transcendence,” Khanna said, openly admitting that his family was unhappy with his decision. But for Khanna, this journey was one he had to undertake alone.  

Akshaye Khanna on Vinod Khanna's decision

Interestingly, his son, actor Akshaye Khanna, supported his father’s decision. In a separate interview with Simi Garewal, Akshaye expressed his belief in the importance of living authentically. “I’m a great believer in being self-centred, being selfish. Unless you’re happy, you can’t make other people happy... I think everybody should live for themselves. It takes guts to live for yourself. Very few people can really do it,” he shared.