Akshaye Khanna has become an internet sensation, ever since the release of Aditya Dhar's 'Dhurandhar'. While he's basking in all the glory, there's also now curiosity around his personal life. Khanna has chosen to have a private life which is away from the limelight. His father
Vinod Khanna has enjoyed stardom and when he was at the peak of it, he left it and turned to spirituality. He left his wife and two boys - Akshaye and Rahul Khanna - and went to Osho's ashram. Here's all you need to know about Akshaye's mother and Vinod Khanna's ex-wife Geetanjali.
Vinod Khanna’s first wife, Geetanjali Taleyarkhan, was a model from a well-known Parsi family. Her background included lawyers and businessmen, and she became the first in her family to step into the glamour world. Geetanjali was the daughter of A.F.S. Taleyarkhan, who was recognised as one of India’s earliest commentators in the 1950s.
Vinod first met Geetanjali during his college years and was instantly drawn to her. The two began dating at a time when Vinod had not yet established himself in the film industry. Soon after, he caught the attention of actor-producer Sunil Dutt, who offered him his debut film, 'Man Ka Meet', setting his acting career in motion, according to Bollywoodshadis.com
As Vinod’s popularity grew and success followed, he eventually agreed to settle down. In 1971, he married Geetanjali in a lavish wedding attended by prominent names from the film industry. A year later, the couple welcomed their first son, Rahul Khanna, followed by Akshaye Khanna in 1975. With both his professional and personal life flourishing, Vinod was known to prioritise family time, even making it a rule to not work on Sundays.
Despite enjoying fame, success, and a happy family life, Vinod Khanna felt a growing spiritual void. At the height of his career, he chose to renounce worldly life and took sanyas in 1982, leaving Bollywood and joining Osho’s ashram. This decision drastically altered his personal life.
Initially living in the United States, Vinod stayed in touch with Geetanjali and their children through phone calls. However, the distance proved difficult, especially as their two sons were growing up. Geetanjali struggled to manage life as a single parent and shared how the children were often questioned about their father’s absence.
After three years of trying to balance everything on her own and urging Vinod to return home, Geetanjali eventually gave him an ultimatum, to choose between his family and his spiritual path. When there was no response, she filed for divorce, and the couple legally separated in 1985. Although Vinod returned to India in 1987, his prolonged stay at the ashram had already ended his first marriage.
A while ago, in an interview, Akshaye had opened up on the effect his father going to Osho's ashram had on him. Recalling that time, Akshaye had shared with Mid-day, “To not only leave his family, but to take ‘sanyaas’ (renunciation). Sanyaas means giving up your life in totality, family is only a part of it. It’s a life-changing decision, which he felt that he needed to take at the time. As a five-year-old, it was impossible for me to understand it. I can understand it now.”
He reflected that his father must have experienced something deeply transformative to make such a decision. He said, “Something must have moved him so deeply inside that he felt that that kind of decision was worth it for him. Especially when you have everything in life. A very basic fault line/earthquake has to occur within oneself to make that decision. But also stick by it. One can make the decision and say this doesn’t suit me, let’s go back. But that didn’t happen. And circumstances in America with Osho and the colony, friction with the US government, that was the reason he came back.”
Back in India, Vinod resumed his acting career on Osho’s advice—to live life like an actor and act as though life itself were a role. The film industry welcomed him back, and at the age of 43, he found love again. He later married Kavita Daftary in 1990 after a long courtship. The couple went on to have two children, a son and a daughter.
Geetanjali Taleyarkhan, however, never remarried. She dedicated her life to raising Rahul and Akshaye on her own, away from public attention. She passed away in 2018 at the age of 70, a year after Vinod Khanna’s death in 2017.
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