When spiritual guru Osho asked Vinod Khanna to fight against Amitabh Bachchan: 'He was jealous that Big B became the number one Bollywood star'

Vinod Khanna left for the spiritual guru Osho’s aashram right at the peak of his career for five years. He went in 1982, came back in 1987 and gave two blockbusters Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate. But what were those five years away from the spotlight and limelight?

In an interview with Hindi Rush, Osho’s brother revealed, " I can speak about Vinod Khanna, because I was very close to him. Our homes at Rajneeshpuram were right next to each other, coincidentally. I knew him well. He would often express sadness at missing his wife and children to me."

He added, “He used to work as a gardener at Osho’s house, and Osho would observe him. He noticed that Vinod was sad. He asked around about him, and he was told that Vinod was missing his family. Osho said, ‘No, he isn’t missing his family. Tell him to return to India, and go up against Amitabh Bachchan in the elections’.

More from Entertainment

WATCH! EXCLUSIVE | Netflix’s ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’ actor Pratik Gandhi on Deepika Padukone's view: ‘8-hour shift will magically transform your creative imagination; I feel for…’ Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album 'The Life of a Showgirl', special edition also likely to release

He continued, “I was surprised to hear this. Vinod Khanna was surprised to hear this. I never thought that he had political ambitions at all. But imagine how farsighted Osho was. He knew what Vinod was going through even though Vinod himself didn’t. He knew that during his time at the ashram, Amitabh Bachchan had taken over Bollywood.”

Akshaye Khanna, the son of the veteran actor, spoke about his father’s sanyaas and said, “I don’s think one can understand at that age. But we had a fair understanding of what the logistics of things were. I don’t remember it ever being explained to me, actually. It was just the way it was. I don’t think anybody explained it to me. I can’t remember. I’m sure someone must have. But I can’t remember…”

Khanna added, “You can’t understand these things at that age… Everybody has their own way of dealing with things, and it’s only now that one truly understands… I certainly don’t think that it was a bad thing or a wrong thing. When a relationship doesn’t serve the people who are involved, I don’t think there’s any reason to continue it, especially if the excuse is for someone else.”