When Akshaye Khanna said he doesn't want to work with his father Vinod Khanna: ‘There are some actors who just wash you away on screen'

Indian Express

27-04-2025

Vinod Khanna passed away on this day, April 27, eight years ago in 2017. The legendary actor is best known for films like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), and Qurbani (1980). A posthumous recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2018), he's also served as a politician, most notably as the Minister of State for External Affairs in 2003-2004.
Despite his illustrious and expansive career, a biopic hasn't been made on Vinod Khanna. Even his sons — Akshaye Khanna and Rahul Khanna — who are actors as well, haven't considered the idea. In an interview with IANS in 2017, Akshaye reasoned, 'I haven't ever thought about it so I can't say. But I think biopics by nature, I suppose as accurate as they can be, the better for an actor,' he said.
'It's very challenging as well as risky for an actor to portray a real life character because you are portraying some one who actually existed. So, it becomes really difficult,' added Akshaye, who said one must 'think 10 times' before playing a real-life character. Akshaye has played a real-life character, Hiralal Gandhi, Mahatama Gandhi's son, in Feroz Abbas Khan's Gandhi, My Father (2007). He was most recently seen as yet another historical character, Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, in Laxman Utekar's blockbuster period war drama Chhaava earlier this year.
Perhaps Akshaye Khanna's reticence to play his father Vinod Khanna on screen could also be attributed to his intimidation of matching up to his dad when they worked together in Akshaye's debut film, Pankaj Parashar's 1997 romance Himalay Putra. 'There are certain people whom you shouldn't work with. My dad is one of them. Amitabh Bachchan is another. To stand in the same frame as them confidently is impossible,' Akshaye said in a 2008 interview with IANS.
'They've such an overpowering screen presence. It's very difficult to match my father on screen. It's that quality – either you have it, or you don't have it. Very frankly, I don't have it. I just don't have that kind of presence. There are some actors who just wash you away on screen. My dad is one of them,' added Akshaye.
Akshaye Khanna shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan in Milan Luthria's 2004 action thriller Deewaar: Let's Bring Our Heroes Back, an ensemble that also starred Sanjay Dutt, Kay Kay Menon, and Amrita Rao among others. Interestingly, Akshaye's father Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan had a memorable onscreen partnership. They starred together in films like Amar Akbar Anthony, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, and Reshma Aur Shera, among others.
Vinod Khanna was diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer in 2017. He died in Mumbai. He was survived by his wife Kavita Daftary and four kids, including Akshaye and Rahul.