On Vinod Khanna's 79th birth anniversary on October 6, Subhash K Jha lists 10 of his best films.
Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971)
VK played dacoit Jabbar Singh in this Raj Khosla film; Dharmendra played the lead.
VK's villain roles got him his initial stardom.
Mere Apne (1971)
VK played a goonda in this Gulzar film, opposite Yogeeta Bali.
Sachcha Jhootha (1971)
VK played the villain in this Rajesh Khanna starrer.
Achanak (1973)
From Mere Apne (1971) to Lekin (1990), VK did his best work for Gulzar.
Achanak had no songs and was about a soldier who kills his unfaithful wife and best friend, then flees captivity to immerse her mangalsutra in the Ganga.
VK also starred in Gulzar's historical Jallianwala Bagh (1977).
Imtihan (1974)
VK's biggest hit as a solo hero was this desi take on To Sir With Love. The song Ruk Jaana Nahin Tu Kahin Haar Ke was a hit.
Parvarish (1977)
VK stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Amitabh Bachchan in several Manmohan Desai films, including this one.
Amar Akbar Anthony (1978)
Vinod Khanna's Amar, Rishi Kapoor's Akbar and Amitabh Bachchan's Anthony gave us a cinema we enjoy even 47 years later.
Meera (1979)
Vinod made the switch to herogiri with 2 power-packed performances in Gulzar's Mere Apne and Achanak.
Gulzar offered VK the Raja Bhoj role in Meera. After hearing the script, Vinod said, 'I wish I could play Meerabai.'
Insaaf (1987)
Vinod returned to films with Mukul Anand's Insaaf and Raj Sippy's Satyamev Jayate but couldn't recreate the earlier days of glory.
Kshatriya (1993)
After VK joined politics, his movie appearances were sporadic and unremarkable. This JP Dutta-starrer was his last remarkable performance.