When Arjun Kapoor’s grandmom wanted ‘unprofessional’ Vinod Khanna ‘blackled’ after return from Osho ashram: ‘He comes to set for 2 hours, is 5 hours late’ | Bollywood News
When Amitabh Bachchan rose to prominence in the 1970s with Zanjeer, there was only one actor widely regarded as his competition: Vinod Khanna. At the peak of his career, however, Khanna made a surprising move in 1982 leaving the film industry to join the Osho Ashram. He eventually made a highly anticipated comeback with the 1987 film Insaaf.
While his return thrilled fans, producers often found working with him challenging due to his habitual tardiness.
One such producer was Sattee Shourie, maternal grandmother of actor Arjun Kapoor, who produced Khanna’s 1991 film Farishtay. The film, starring Dharmendra and Rajinikanth alongside Khanna, went on to become a commercial success. However, Sattee described her experience working with the actor as “horrifying.”
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In an old interview with Retro Lehren, she said: “I don’t have words to express how difficult it is to work with Vinod Khanna. One needs a heart of stone to deal with that man. He is a very difficult person. Ever since his comeback, he has never once arrived on set on time. He showed no sympathy for producers who rent equipment for his shoots, and his tardiness wasted a lot of resources. He would routinely arrive five hours late.”
She continued: “Producers never knew when he would appear. For a 9:30 AM shoot, he might show up at 2:00 PM, work for just two hours out of an eight-hour shift, and leave 4 pm. Ideally, he should be paying for the extra expenses that producers end up incurring over a 200-day schedule because of his delays. He is not professional. Arts like this should be blackled from the industry; they bankrupt producers.”
Sattee Shourie backed three films in her career: her debut Farishtay (1991), Sheesha (1986), and Yug (1997).
