He was the original hunk of the Indian film industry and had millions of female fans drooling over his good looks. But after entertaining the audience for years with his charismatic performances and charm, veteran actor and sitting member of parliament, Vinod Khanna passed away today morning (April 27).
The Amar, Akbar, Anthony actor lost a long-drawn battle against bladder cancer at the age of 70.
This sad news comes just weeks after a picture of Khanna looking frail and extremely weak went viral. At the time he was admitted to the HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai for treatment of dehydration.
And while he stayed there for close to a month and doctors reportedly shared that he was getting better and responding well to treatment, it seems that he couldn't win his war.
Just minutes after his demise the hospital released an official statement informing the media.
“Veteran actor and Member of Parliament Mr. Vinod Khanna, who was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital breathed his last at 11.20 am due to advanced bladder carcinoma,” stated the release.
Khanna is survived by his wife Kavita and four children including sons Rahul, Akshaye and Sakshi, and daughter Shraddha. While he had Akshaye and Rahul from his first wife and childhood sweetheart Geetanjali, Sakshi and Shraddha are his kids from Kavita.
And while this a harrowing time for the family, the legendary actor has left a void in the hearts of his many admirers and fans, many of whom are from the same industry.
Friends and colleagues pay homage
Twitter in particular saw an influx of condolence messages and many of his colleagues and well wishers such as Rishi Kapoor, Karan Johar, Anupam Kher, Rajnath Singh and Virendra Sehwag, among others paid their respects.
As for his dear friend Amitabh Bachchan, he reportedly rushed out of an interview to be by his family's side. Bachchan was sitting with media persons for interviews of his upcoming movie, but just as soon as he heard the sad news, he rushed to the hospital.
That is the impact Vinod Khanna had on so many of his friends and colleagues, who are all now mourning the demise of a great soul.
The death of a legend
Vinod Khanna who worked in more than 100 movies and made his acting debut in 1968 with the film Man Ka Meet. Of course, there was no looking back for this star who was not just good looking, but had some superb acting chops.
He went on to win several awards and accolades from the fraternity and fans alike and at the peak of his career in 1982, he left the industry to follow a spiritual path.
But after five years, the actor who was born in Peshawar, Pakistan, was back with two hits Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate.
In 1997, Khanna joined politics and has been working for BJP as a member of parliament elected from Gurdaspur, Punjab. He was last seen in the move Dilwale along with actor Shah Rukh Khan.
We pray that his soul rests in peace.
Read: As bahu Aishwarya comes to terms with her father’s death, an emotional Amitabh Bachchan pens a touching note
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[Images courtesy: Instagram]
