In a career spanning five decades, Vinod Khanna, who passed away today at the age of 70, starred in over 140 films.
Here is the list of 10 of his most memorable performances in Hindi cinema--
"Mera Gaon Mera Desh" (1971) - Considered to be one of his breakthrough roles, the film saw Khanna portray a negative role of a ruthless dacoit Jabbar Singh. One his dialogues from the movie -- "Jabbar Singh ne sirf do hi baatein seekhi hai. Ek mauke ka faayda uthana aur apne dushman ka naam aur nishaan mita dena" is still a favourite among his fans.
"Mere Apne" (1971) - In Gulzar's first directorial venture, Khanna played the role of a gang leader, who often gets into fights with another gang leader, played by Shatrughan Sinha. But finds solace in the grandmother-like embrace of Meena Kumari's character. Khanna stood out with his performance of a disillusioned young man in the movie.
"Achanak" (1973) - In the film, loosely based on the controversial real-life KM Nanavati murder case in 1958, Khanna played an army man who kills his wife for having an extramarital affair with his best friend.
"Imtihan" (1974) - Khanna portrayed the role of an idealist man, Pramod who leaves his rich father's house and takes up the job as a history lecturer at a college. Things go awry for Pramod when the college chairman's daughter and student, Rita falsely accuses him of sexual harassment.
"Hera Pheri" (1976) - Directed by Prakash Mehra, Khanna played best friends and partner-in-crime to Amitabh Bachchan in the film. The rock-solid relationship of the two is questioned when Bachchan's character discovers Khanna's father may be his father's murderer.
"Amar Akbar Anthony" (1977) - Directed by Manmohan Desai, Khanna played the eldest son of Nirupama Roy's character, who goes missing along with his two younger brothers, played by Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapooor. He is raised as a Hindu and grows up to become an honest police officer Amar Khanna.
"Parvarish" (1977) - The film is based on the theme that upbringing plays an important role in nurturing one's character rather than blood relations. Khanna played the role of Kishen, the son of an honest policeman, who strays for a while only to find his way back home.
In this film, Khanna shared screen space with Bachchan, whose character, the son of a dacoit, is raised by Khanna's father and grows up to be an honest cop.
"Qurbani" (1980) - In this film, Khanna, who starred alongside Feroz Khan, played the role of a thief. It was one of his major hits just before he left the film industry to join his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh in the US. Incidentally, Feroz also died on April 27, 2009.
"Lekin..." (1991) - After being stereotyped in the roles of cops and goons, Khanna starred in an interesting role in Gulzar's "Lekin", a ghost story. Khanna played a government official who comes across a friendly spirit and plays an important role in fulfilling her purpose.
"Dabangg" (2010) He played a stubborn step-father to Salman Khan's cop in the movie. The film's most pivotal emotional moments revolve around their troubled relationship.
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