Mumbai: On Thursday morning, veteran Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna passed away at the age of 70 due to cancer in Mumbai. He will be cremated at Worli crematorium at 5 pm.
The actor breathed his last at HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre at Charni Road.
"Veteran actor and Member of Parliament Mr. Vinod Khanna, who was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital breathed his last at 11.20 am due to advanced bladder carcinoma," the spokesperson of the hospital said in an official statement.
On March 31, the ailing actor was rushed to Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital with difficulties emerging due to severe dehydration. The actor remained hospitalised for close to a month.
In between, the actor had responded positively to the treatment and was stable for a while. A picture was leaked from the hospital, which left his fans extremely worried for his health. Soon after, rumours of him being diagnosed with bladder cancer started floating around.
However, later the hospital and his sons, Akshay Khanna and Rahul Khanna, refused to comment on the cancer rumours and had said that Vinod Khanna was stable and making a steady recovery.
Vinod Khanna was all set to be seen with actress Hema Malini in film 'Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi', which was scheduled for release this week.
Incidentally, Vinod's famed 'Qurbaani' co-star Feroz Khan, had passed away on the same day eight years ago, on April 27, 2009.
Born on October 6, 1946, he was seen in 141 films as one of the most prominent and celebrated stars of Bollywood. In 1982, at the peak of his career, the actor briefly quit the industry to follow spiritual Guru Osho Rajneesh.
Khanna joined politics in the year 1997 and also became the union minister of external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Khanna was also a sitting BJP MP from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.
His sons Akshay and Rahul also had prominent Bollywood careers, while his youngest son, Sakshi Khanna is on the brink of his Bollywood debut.
