Beyond his film career, Khanna was also a spiritual seeker[3] and a notable political figure, serving as a Member of Parliament from the Gurdaspur constituency between 1998–2009 and 2014–2017.

[8][9] Khanna rose to stardom in the mid-1970s with a series of successful films, including Haath Ki Safai (1974), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He reached his peak in the late 1970s with blockbusters like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), solidifying his status as a leading actor.

During his time at the boarding school Khanna watched the epics Solva Saal and Mughal-e-Azam and fell in love with motion pictures.

[18] Vinod Khanna began his acting career in 1968 with a supporting role in Adurthi Subba Rao's romantic thriller Man Ka Meet produced by Sunil Dutt.

[20] His breakthrough came in 1970 when he co-starred alongside Rajesh Khanna in Sachaa Jhutha and Aan Milo Sajna and Manoj Kumar in Purab Aur Paschim, all three of which were blockbusters as well as among the top five highest grossing films of that year.

[21] He bagged his first leading role in Gulzar's maiden directional venture Mere Apne (1971), which opened to positive response from critics and proved to be a hit.

[23][24] He had another huge hit in Kewal Mishra's actioner Do Yaar, the following year and a highly acclaimed crime drama with Gulzar's Achanak in 1973, based on the K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra case.

[25] In 1974, Khanna starred in Prakash Mehra's masala film Haath Ki Safai which also had Randhir Kapoor and Hema Malini in the lead.

[26] The film emerged a superhit at the box office and made Khanna a star alongwith winning him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

[27] In 1976, he reunited with Prakash Mehra for another masala film Hera Pheri co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saira Banu and Sulakshana Pandit.

[33] It opened to thunderous response from the audience, eventually doing more business than Khanna's last big hit Khoon Pasina and emerging a massive blockbuster as well as the highest grossing film of that year.

[32] For his portrayal of a man accused of multiple homicides in Shaque, Khanna received his first nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category.

[39] In 1979, he delivered a moderate success with Mahesh Bhatt's fourth directional venture Lahu Ke Do Rang, but his other releases, such as Meera and Yuvraaj failed to do well.

[41][42] The former opened to bumper response, but collections fell afterwards and was given an average verdict by the end of its run; however, it gained cult status in later years.

[47] In spite of presence of some of the biggest stars of that time and its soundtrack being one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1980s, Kudrat was rejected at ticket counters and proved to be a flop.

[51] After a five year hiatus, Khanna returned to films with Mukul Anand's successful actioner Insaaf which also had Dimple Kapadia in the lead.

From 1990 to 1996, only two of his films proved to be box office successes, which were - T. Rama Rao's Muqaddar Ka Badshaah (1990) and K. C. Bokadia's Police Aur Mujrim (1992).

[60][61] In 1997, he launched and co-starred alongside his son Akshaye Khanna in Himalay Putra, which opened to lukewarm response and flopped at the box office.

[76] In 1997, Khanna joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab in the next year's Lok Sabha poll.

[85] Khanna always considered himself spiritual, owing to his family background as well his discovery of Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi he read while still in college.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted “Will always remember Vinod Khanna as a popular actor, dedicated leader and a wonderful human.