Akshaye Khanna on Vinod Khanna leaving everything for Osho: ‘As a 5-year-old, I just couldn’t understand’

Akshaye Khanna revisited one of the most emotional chapters of his childhood – the moment his father Vinod Khanna walked away from films and family life to follow Osho in the 1980s. Akshaye Khanna breaks silence on Vinod Khanna’s sanyaas(X) Akshaye Khanna has opened up about one of the most defining and difficult chapters of his childhood – the period when his father, veteran actor Vinod Khanna, walked away from films, fame and family life in the early 1980s to join Oregon spiritual guru Rajne Osho. The actor, who rarely talks about his personal life, shared how deeply that decision shaped him. “As a child I couldn’t understand why he left” Akshaye, who was about five at the time, recalled that he had no way of processing such a drastic step. Speaking to Mid-day, he said he simply could not understand why someone who “had everything in life” would renounce it all. “It was impossible to understand,” he said in the interview. He explained that the idea of ​​sanyaas – complete renunciation – goes far beyond leaving home. “Sanyaas means giving up your life in totality, family is only a part of it,” he said. To a child, the decision felt confusing. However, as an adult, Akshaye believes his father must have experienced something “deeply transformative” to take such a step. “A very basic fault line, an earthquake within yourself, has to happen to make that decision,” he added. Vinod Khanna’s steadfast commitment Akshaye also said his father never took the decision lightly. After joining Osho’s community, Vinod Khanna did not return out of uncertainty or regret. What finally brought him back to India, Akshaye explained, was the collapse of the Oregon Commune after friction with American authorities. “From whatever I remember, disillusionment was not the reason. The congregation was disbanded and destroyed. Otherwise I don’t think he would have ever come back,” he said. How teenage Akshaye found his own connection with Osho’s teachings It wasn’t until his mid-teens that Akshaye started reading Osho’s books and listening to his discourses. This exploration helped him to view his father’s choices with empathy instead of confusion. “Something must have stirred him so deeply that he felt that that kind of decision was worth it,” he said. Despite the emotional upheaval – including his parents Vinod and Gitanjali’s separation in 1985 – Akshaye harbors no bitterness. Instead, he speaks fondly about Osho’s ideas. “I love him. I have read many of his discourses and seen hundreds of videos,” he said, adding that while sanyas is not a path he would take himself, he respects Osho’s intellect and philosophy. Beyond a Family Story: A Legacy of Complexity Vinod Khanna’s withdrawal from films at the height of his success stunned the industry. For Akshaye and his brother, the decision meant a childhood marked by questions and emotional gaps. But today, as Akshaye once again earns praise for his recent performance in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, he seems to view that tumultuous period not as a wound but as a formative experience that shaped his worldview and artistic depth.