It’s not easy to handle the pressure of being a celebrity and the demands of glam culture. The number of people who have withered away, often unnoticed, in the bustling world of cinema is far greater than those who have made it big and reached the top. Even for those who attain massive stardom and wear their fame like a badge, life can be difficult at times, especially when it comes to finding mental peace. Even Vinod Khanna, widely regarded as one of the most popular actor-stars in the history of Hindi cinema, struggled with the same.
In fact, Khanna’s life often drew significant attention, and one of the most prominent choices he made was taking a five-year hiatus from Bollywood to follow his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh. Recently, veteran actor Kabir Bedi spoke about Khanna’s spiritual journey and how he eventually returned to the film industry after his time with Osho. “He was a very special person. Besides being an actor, he also had a spiritual dimension. Once he met Osho, started learning meditation and gaining experience, his life began changing,” Bedi observed during a chat with Siddharth Kannan.
“When Osho had to leave India, go to the US and build an ashram in Oregon state, Vinod left everything behind and joined him. I was in California during those days. So, whenever Vinod yearned for some relief from the ashram, he would come to Los Angeles, and we would meet and talk. He used to tell me all the gossip from the ashram because there would always be some drama in every organisation,” he added.
“Although I respect Osho and his philosophy, his disciples in Oregon did certain things that the Netflix documentary (Wild Wild Country) also shined light on. However, the Netflix documentary did not show Osho’s entire life. It failed to explore his importance, significance and teachings. It only focused on the Oregon incident,” he mentioned.
Highlighting that Khanna had given up everything he owned to follow Osho, Bedi explained that when he eventually returned to the film industry, it wasn’t easy to pick up where he had left off, but he managed to achieve it.
“Eventually, Osho had to flee the US as well as the authorities there began cracking down on him, particularly due to visa violations for trying to build a town while on a tourist visa. With that, Vinod returned to India and started his life again. He rented a small one-bedroom flat and began working on his life. And he did that well; the industry accepted him. He eventually built a successful career,” Bedi pointed out.
