Vinod Khanna dies at 70; PM Modi pays tribute, Bollywood mourns legendary actor's demise

New Delhi: The legendary Bollywood star Vinod Khanna breathed his last on Thursday morning around 11.20 am, leaving his family, friends and an ocean of fan following in gloom. Khanna was battling advanced bladder carcinoma (bladder cancer) reportedly and after his prolonged illness succumbed to the disease.

Vinod Khanna was not only a veteran actor but also a great leader. He was an active politician and a sitting BJP MP from Gurdaspur. Condolence messages poured all over social media from politicians to film fraternity.

The classic actor started his career in Sunil Dutt's 'Man Ka Meet' which released in 1968. He went to act in several films as a villain but it was 'Hum Tum Aur Woh' in 1971 and 'Mere Apne' in the same year which won him accolades and prominence.

Khanna featured in several blockbuster films and had an illustrious film career in the early 70s and 80s before he took a break and sought solace under his spiritual guru Rajneesh Osho. Khanna looked up to his guru Osho and was reportedly one of his favourite disciples. This was somewhere in 1975 when his craze had just begun. But in the early 1980s, when Khanna had become a huge Bollywood star, he decided to denounce his career, showbiz—all the limelight and surrender his soul to his guru.

Shocking everyone, Khanna left the industry to be with Osho. He went to the US, at Rajneeshpuram—performing the duties of a true disciple for about five long years. However, he returned to the world of showbiz after a hiatus of five long years and was back with a bang!

Khanna broke a million hearts and got married to Geetanjali in 1971. He has two sons from that marriage—Rahul and Akshaye Khanna—both are in the film business. But the couple got divorced eventually.

In 1990, Khanna announced his marriage with Kavita with whom he has two kids—son Sakshi and daughter Shraddha. His family has been supportive of him in all these years and was by his side during tough times.

Vinod Khanna was admitted to Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Center in Girgaon for a few weeks before succumbing to cancer, reportedly. His wife Kavita and kids were by his side during his last moments.

Vinod Khanna's last rites were performed at Worli today evening. His family and friends from film fraternity including Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Danny Denzongpa and many others were seen.

Khanna is survived by wife Kavita and children Rahul Khanna, Akshay Khanna, Sakshi Khanna and daughter Shraddha.

Vinod Khanna was a BJP MP and several political leaders including PM Narendra Modi, President Pranab Mukherjee, Amit Shah and Congress President Sonia Gandhi mourned his death.