Busting two Bollywood myths - that an actor who became successful as a villain would be fated to remain one, and that a prolonged disappearance could be career-finishing - Vinod Khanna made his mark as the first 'angry young man' of Hindi films, well before Amitabh Bachchan, and ended up playing an 'angry old father' around four decades down.
But whatever role he played - good, bad, or even supporting - he ended up making his presence felt. Can you think of any other Bollywood hero who won applause for beating up Amitabh Bachchan on screen?
Born on this day in Peshawar in 1946, Khanna's family translocated after Partition to then Bombay, and Delhi, where he studied in Delhi Public School, and then back to Maharashtra. It was at a boarding school in Deolali, near Nashik, that he picked up a fondness for films and a desire to join the industry. But he completed graduation first. He was also a keen cricket player, but he realised he did not have enough skills to go far in it and plumped for acting instead.
Standing out with his imposing height and physique, crowned with a sculpted and expressive face, he caught Sunil Dutt's attention at a party and was offered the villain's role in his "Man ka Meet"
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