Having lived a life on his own terms as a blessed soul, Vinod Khanna was not only a dashing, talented Hindi film hero, but a sensitive, thoughtful, spiritual person too on whom books are sure going to be written sooner or later giving us a deeper insight about his lesser talked about persona and the daring thought process.
To be straight, there are more assumptions and fewer facts stated by people talking or rather guessing about Vinod’s spiritual journey in particular, wherein most assume that he disassociated himself from Osho post returning from America. However the fact is that he remained associated with him till the very end and explained it all to us in person, when we met him in a Delhi Meditation camp more than a decade back.
As a matter of fact, even Khalid Mohammed asked him the same question in the interview being quoted here from the year 1993 published in Filmfare magazine, to which Vinod answered that 'the years spent with the master were the most important years of his life completely changing him from the inside.'
But here instead of discussing the various phases of his spiritual life, the article is actually about the revelations made by Vinod in the detailed interview talking about his films with Amitabh Bachchan, Gulzar and Yash Chopra, that is sure to surprise many film lovers well familiar with that specific era and the classics.
While commenting upon the positions of No.1 and 2 in the film industry, Vinod said that it didn’t matter to him as he enjoyed doing all those films with Amitabh, strongly ensuring that if in case the role was tampered with, then the damage was duly rectified well in time. Recalling the names he said that the scenes in MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR were especially written in Amitabh’s favour but he didn’t care as by that time he had already announced his retirement. Whereas in KHOON PASINA the script was suddenly changed as his character was coming on too strong. So he put his foot down and asked for rectifications. But even then he did have to make compromises being on the location and in the midst of an outstation schedule.
On the topic of timings and uncertainty involved in filmmaking in Hindi cinema, he said that he always wanted to be punctual, but it was of no use as nothing happened here in time and actors were made scapegoats. Specifically taking a name he added that no one here ever has a ready script before the shoot and Gulzar was the only director who gave him a bound script for his film moving ahead of them all.
However the most interesting revelation made by Vinod is related to Yash Chopra’s CHANDNI, which he pointed as a film that was shot quite differently from the one that was narrated to him in the initial stages. And thus, he lost out in terms of role, due to the major alterations made along the actual shoot.
As stated further, in the original version of CHANDNI, Rishi Kapoor had to die before the interval and Vinod was to take it over in the second half. Vinod was to get married with Sridevi along with Rishi’s child leading to further emotional twists, but then the plot was drastically changed all of a sudden resulting in a completely different film. In the new version Rishi remained alive post intermission and Vinod had to share the footage with him (entering in the final hour of the film more like an extended special appearance).
Interestingly, Anupama Chopra reveals another version of the story penned by her mother Kamna Chandra in her article devoted to Sridevi at Films Companion. And in it she recalls that as per her mother's original story, both Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor get married, have a son but post-crash there are problems in Rishi’s behaviour dealing with insecurity. With things getting worst at home, Sridevi walks out of the relationship alone leaving her husband and son to start a new life of her own. She tries a new career and then falls in love again with Vinod Khanna leading to the finale sequence where Sridevi’s teenage son comes to wish them both on their wedding with a bouquet.
Now considering the above coming from Vinod Khanna himself and Anupama Chopra, it seems Yash Chopra was in the mood of making an extension of SILSILA kind of bold, unconventional ‘ahead of its time’ film as CHANDNI in 1989 itself, before his most experimental and courageous film LAMHE releasing in 1991. But quite possibly a close well-wisher suggested the veteran to go for a light-hearted love saga first, re-establishing himself in the market post the debacle of VIJAY (1988) and FAASLE (1985) coming right after MASHAAL (1984), SILSILA (1981) and KALA PATTHAR (1979).
The decision no doubt proved to be fruitful, making a big contribution in the revival of romance and music in Hindi cinema, winning over the excessive action films of the 80s. But the debate remains that if CHANDNI was made on its original storyline, then would that have been a much better film in comparison to the released version or would that have also resulted in a dud similar to LAMHE made two years later?
Anyway, would like to end with another interesting observation related with Yash Chopra’s CHANDNI and its last hour when both Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor (coming together post AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY) accidently meet in Switzerland.
They both meet singing a Punjabi song “Haye Or Rabba Nahio Lagda Dil Mera” and introduce themselves as Rohit and Lalit assuming each other as Indians, whereas the song they sung happened to be a hugely famous Punjabi Pakistani song sung by the legendary Reshma. But despite the fact about the song’s origin, they both never ask, from where the other person was or how he was singing a Punjabi Pakistani song?
Why?
Because till the mid-90s films were mostly made only for the Indian Territory in particular and Indian films were also banned in Pakistan (since the mid-60s). So the makers didn’t have to think about the foreign territories or wooing the non-Indian audiences adding such clear references. It all later changed post mid-90s with opening of new world markets and Shah Rukh Khan proving to be a big craze overseas, when our filmmakers started writing and conceiving films keeping in mind the immensely potential foreign market too bringing in these kind of strong references.
Even the ban on Indian films in Pakistan got lifted in the first decade of the new millennium only, which again got revived with the recent tension in the ongoing year between the two countries.
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Hope you enjoyed reading the lesser known facts related with the classics of our Hindi Cinema. Would soon try to come up with more, so keep visiting and sharing along with your valuable comments providing the much required support to keep it going.
Cheers!
(With Thanks to Gurwinder Lotay for a valuable timely contribution)
