Dhurandhar star Akshaye Khanna’s father Vinod Khanna was ‘broken’ after he returned from his stint at Osho’s

It is widely known that actor Vinod Khanna shocked the film industry by stepping away from a flourishing career at its absolute peak. He not only walked out of films but also distanced himself from his wife and two young sons to immerse himself completely in the spiritual path under guru Osho, adopting the life of a sanyasi. What remains far less discussed, however, is that Khanna was not the first prominent figure from Hindi cinema to be drawn toward the controversial spiritual leader. That distinction belongs to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who played a pivotal role in introducing Khanna to Osho in the first place.

Bhatt’s own fascination with Osho emerged during a turbulent phase in his professional life. Several of his early films had failed at the box office, leaving him disillusioned and searching for meaning. In a past conversation on Arbaaz Khan’s talk show, Bhatt recalled how he gravitated toward spiritual spaces while grappling with creative and emotional uncertainty. He described himself as an ordinary man who, after a string of commercial disappointments, wandered into what he called a spiritual marketplace. Osho, a magnetic and influential figure from Pune, drew him in completely. Bhatt embraced the lifestyle wholeheartedly, wearing saffron robes and following an intense schedule of meditation multiple times a day.

During this period of devotion, Bhatt brought Vinod Khanna into Osho’s fold. While Bhatt eventually began questioning his own sincerity, Khanna’s commitment deepened. Bhatt later admitted that he consciously severed his ties with the guru, discarding the mala that symbolized his allegiance. He felt uncomfortable preaching spiritual ideals while still struggling with human emotions like jealousy, which made him feel dishonest both to himself and to others.


Osho, however, did not take Bhatt’s departure lightly. According to Bhatt, the spiritual leader conveyed his displeasure through Vinod Khanna. Khanna reportedly called Bhatt from a film studio and warned him that Osho was furious over the discarded mala. Bhatt openly acknowledged his actions and dismissed his own earlier devotion as misguided. Khanna then relayed a chilling message, urging Bhatt to return the mala personally or face dire consequences, allegedly including threats of destruction.

Osho later addressed his fallout with Bhatt in his book, suggesting that Bhatt’s romantic relationship had pulled him away from spiritual commitment. He framed the situation as an inevitable choice between renunciation and attachment, claiming Bhatt succumbed to the latter.

While Bhatt moved on, Khanna continued his journey, relocating to Osho’s commune in Oregon. Even after the spiritual empire collapsed, Khanna remained deeply affected. Bhatt once revealed that he had attempted to bring Khanna back from the United States but failed. When Khanna eventually returned to Mumbai, Bhatt encountered him living quietly, emotionally shattered.

Bhatt told Subhash K Jha how he found Khanna ‘broken’ upon his return. “When I turned away, he stayed—and then disappeared to Oregon. I even flew to America once, to try and bring him back. But he was too far gone. When the Rajneesh dream collapsed, he returned—broken. I met him again in a small flat opposite Jaslok Hospital,” he revealed.

Though Khanna resumed acting and appeared in successful films like Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate in 1987, the magnetic stardom he once commanded was never fully restored.