Vinod Khanna Was The First Bollywood Star To Get A Vanity Van

He was the sex symbol with shades of grey in an era populated by goody-goody heroes and the late superstar Vinod Khanna was a pioneer in other ways too

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Vinod Khanna Was The First Bollywood Star To Get A Vanity Van

Bet you did not know this about enigmatic superstar Vinod Khanna. He was the first actor in Bollywood to get a vanity van. Before that the stars had to make do with a meagre umbrella and a chair in between shots.

I got to know this interesting tidbit while interviewing the superstar at his home in South Mumbai.

It was 2014 (May 7) and I was working at Mumbai Mirror. His film Koylanchal was about to release and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections were on the anvil too.

During the interview, while speaking about the current generation of stars and their comfortable lives, he spoke about his own heydays.

“Actors are used to working in tough conditions. I am from an era when we didn't even have vanity vans. I was the first actor to get one,” said the superstar.

And on Thursday morning, the pioneer passed away. The ‘70s superstar, who famously gave up his career to become a disciple of Osho, was a true icon.

Such was Vinod Khanna’s allure that he was nicknamed the Sexy Sanyasi by the media when he left Bollywood to join his guru.

In his long Bollywood career, he worked in more than 100 films, and was an active politician, a member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, Punjab.

The action star of The Burning Train and the heartbreaker of Qurbani, got his Bollywood break when Sunil Dutt decided to launch him in Man ka Meet (1968).Then in 1980, at the peak of his career, Vinod Khanna left Bollywood for Oregon. If stories are to be believed, he transformed into an able gardener at the Rajneeshpuram ashram.

Coming back to the vanity van, Vinod Khanna was truly a pioneer in more ways than one.

RIP Vinod Sir!


Thumbnail Image Source: cloudfront

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