Vinod Khanna and Amitabh bachchan in a poster of Hera Pheri (courtesy MosesSapir)
Highlights
- Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna co-starred in Parvarish, Hera Pheri
- They played brothers Amar Akbar Anthony
- Some of their contemporaries considered Vinod Khanna a rival to Big B
After news that actor-politician Vinod Khanna had died of cancer broke on Thursday morning, his frequent co-star Amitabh Bachchan reportedly left an interview midway to be with the family. He was later pictured at Mr Khanna's Malabar Hills home and attended the funeral. Mr Bachchan was spotted arriving with son Abhishek for the late actor's last rites. Earlier in the day, according to a report in
Firstpost, Mr Bachchan rushed out of the interview to the hospital in Girgaon Mr Khanna had been taken to some weeks ago and where he died at the age of 70. Amitabh Bachchan and
Vinod Khanna made several films together - from
Reshma Aur Shera and
Hera Pheri to
Parvarish and
Muqaddar Ka Sikander. They played brothers in the lost-and-found blockbuster
Amar Akbar Anthony. Some of their contemporaries considered Vinod Khanna a rival to Amitabh Bachchan's 'Angry Young Man' tag - others believed that Mr Khanna was the original 'Angry Young Man.'
In 2006, Vinod Khanna opened up about his alleged rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan on NDTV's
Bombay Talkies, and said: "I think we both worked very cordially with each other. But of course were both very different in the sense of the roles we portrayed on screen. We complemented each other. Both were very wary of the scripts and both would be very sure about each other's roles - that nobody's getting more and somebody's getting less. And accordingly we did those films together and could have gone on and on till I quit the industry." Mr Khanna also added: "I think it's the media that created the rivalry. We were friends, we're still friends but yes with the fan following everybody used to talk...Amitabh Bachchan/Vinod Khanna.."
A while ago, this old picture of
Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna in cricket whites at a charity match went viral.
Mr Bachchan posted this tweet, believed to refer to Vinod Khanna, days earlier when rumours that Mr Khanna had died were wrongly circulated.
Several of Vinod Khanna's other friends and colleagues - co-stars Hema Malini,
Rishi Kapoor and Shatrughan Sinha, actor Rajinikanth, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and others - have reacted with grief. Mr Kapoor and Mr Sinha posted tweets mourning their former co-star. Sanjay Dutt, son of actor Sunil Dutt in whose 1968 film
Man Ka Meet Mr Khanna made his debut, released a statement.
Vinod Khanna's funeral was held at Malabar Hills, Mumbai today.
Vinod Khanna, who was a sitting Member of Parliament, is survived by his wife Kavita and four children. His sons Rahul and Akshaye are also actors.