Saira Banu pens emotional note of remembrance to Vinod Khanna

Legendary actress Saira Banu went down memory lane as she remembered her old friend and colleague, the legendary actor Vinod Khanna.

Penning a lengthy and emotional tribute to the ‘Hera Pheri’ alum, she remembered an incident from the set of ‘Aarop’ where she detailed his gentlemanly personality and humble nature, admitting that to this day she deeply misses him.

Taking to her Instagram, she shared a poster of the 1973 film alongside a clip of one of the film’s songs and an old clip where he could be seen meeting Dilip Kumar.

She captioned the post “Vinod loved Sahib incredibly. He was a very thoughtful man. Once, he and I were shooting at Natraj Studios for Guru Dutt's film ‘AAROP’ directed by Atmaramji. On the very same day, Sahib was headed to the airport and I had requested him to stop by the Studio before his flight to Delhi.

“As Sahib arrived, Vinod, Johnny Walker Bhai, and I were rehearsing a scene. While Sahib walked in, Vinod disappeared somewhere. Soon after, Atmaramji sent assistants to look for him so that we could go ahead with the shot. Vinod took pretty long to come onto the set and Sahib had already left. As soon as Vinod appeared I asked him ‘Where were you for so long’”.

Detailing his response, she wrote Vinod laughed and said ‘Oh! Boy! Do you think I can act and perform while Dilipji, ‘The Master Of Acting’ is watching I would be shaking with nervousness! So I absconded!’”

Narrating his life further, she added “Vinod, at the peak of his career, had become a disciple of Osho and from 1975 onwards, he had taken a break from films to follow his Guru. At that time, I told him many times, ‘You are one of the brightest stars of today and everyone knows you will scale tremendous heights in your career. You are too promising. Please don’t go. Why are you intending to take this hiatus’ The entire industry was crestfallen at this move.”

Describing his chivalry and gentlemanly nature, she wrote “Vinod always ensured that we ladies on the sets had comfort levels while going home from the studio. One day, I sent my car back home for some important work, and unexpectedly director Atmaramji finished shooting much earlier than expected.

“He had a perky tiny Volkswagen and saw that my car had not arrived, he then looked at all the paraphernalia of needy things I carried with me and immediately offered his car to drive me home safely. I said, 'Mera Itna Saaman Kahan Aayega, Tumahari Beautiful Choti Si Gaadi Main'. So he said I will wait until your car arrives. Such a chivalrous man he was!

“I remember it was a joy to see him and his wife Geetanjali while we shot outdoors at Lonavala, all of us lived together and had fun times. Later on, when he married Kavita, his second wife, they always visited us on occasions, particularly on our ‘Silver Wedding Anniversary’ and mingled so wonderfully as one of our own family.”

“We miss him!”

Vinod had earned himself a reputation for being an antagonist in Bollywood due to his roles in films such as ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’ and ‘Achanak’. But he was a diverse actor and could portray a bunch of roles in different styles ranging from a romantic to an angry young man, an old veteran, and a fatherly figure as seen in the ‘Dabangg’ films.

The film ‘Guns of Banars’ marked his final appearance after his death in 2017.