Akshaye Khanna breaks silence on Vinod Khanna’s family exit for Osho, says he was only five when it happened

Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna recently revisited a deeply personal chapter from his childhood — the spiritual pilgrimage of his father Vinod Khanna, who left behind his booming film career, family and fame in the 1980s to follow spiritual guru Osho (Rajneesh) at Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. The confession offers a rare, emotional glimpse into the psychological turmoil and eventual acceptance that shaped Akshaye’s early years.

A child’s confusion, a grown-up’s understanding

Akshaye has often shied away from candid interviews, making this revelation all the more poignant. He has spoken about how limited his understanding was as a child. He simply could not grasp why a man who had “everything in life” would choose “sanyaas”, a complete renunciation. As a five years old, his father’s decision felt bewildering and incomprehensible. “It was impossible to understand it,” he admitted, while talking to Mid-day.


Things started to shift when he became a teenager. Around the age of fifteen or sixteen, he began reading Osho’s books and listening to his ideas. Those teachings helped him find meaning in what had once felt like abandonment. He said he realised that for his father, “something must have moved him so deeply inside” that the decision to take sanyas became not only logical, but necessary.

He explained further, “Sanyaas means giving up your life in totality, family is only a part of it.” That understanding softened what had once felt like a childhood rupture.

No bitterness, only respect

When asked why his father returned to India and resumed his career, Akshaye attributed it not to disillusionment with Osho’s teachings, but to external upheavals — the dismantling of the Oregon commune and pressure from U.S. authorities — which forced the community to disband.

Despite the emotional upheaval, Akshaye holds no resentment.. He said he enjoys Osho’s discourses and respects his intellect, his oratory and his way of thinking. He laughed while saying that sanyas would never be his own path, but he still appreciates the clarity and perspective Osho offered his father.

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More than a family saga, a legacy of complexity

Vinod Khanna’s departure from films at the peak of his stardom shocked the industry and fans alike. For Akshaye and his brother, it meant growing up with a void and tough questions at a tender age. Yet today, as Akshaye basks in renewed acclaim thanks to his recent role in Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, it seems the early turbulence did not define him — but shaped his sensibilities and perhaps his nuanced approach to fame, family and identity.