Partition
Forced
Us
To
Leave
Pakistan
''I
was
born
on
October
6,
1946,
in
Peshawar.
My
father,
KC
Khanna,
was
a
businessman
who
dealt
in
textiles,
dyes
and
chemicals.
My
mother,
Kamla,
was
a
housewife.
I
am
one
of
five
children,
with
three
sisters
and
a
brother;
ours
was
a
joint
family.
Shortly
after
my
birth,
India
was
partitioned
and
we
fled
Peshawar.''
I
Was
A
Good
Student
"We
reached
Bombay,
where
my
father
had
an
office.
Initially,
we
stayed
with
friends
and
relatives.
I
was
a
good
student
and
a
favourite
with
the
teachers.
In
1957,
when
I
was
in
class
VI,
we
moved
to
Delhi."
When
I
Watched
Mughal-E-Azam
''We
settled
down
in
East
Patel
Nagar.
School
at
DPS
meant
a
lot
of
studying,
a
lot
of
sports
and
also
a
bit
of
theatre.
While
in
class
IX,
my
family
moved
back
to
Bombay
and
I
was
admitted
to
boarding
school
in
Devlali.
It
made
me
tough.
Around
then,
I
watched
Mughal-E-Azam
&
I
was
swept
away.''
The
Reason
Why
I
Turned
Into
A
Rebel
''I
always
confronted
my
father:
My
father
never
asked
me
what
I
wanted
to
do,
he
just
told
me
what
I
had
to
do.
Even
when
I
was
in
college,
I
had
to
confront
my
father
to
be
allowed
to
party
on
weekends.
This
turned
me
into
a
rebel.
My
mother
frequently
made
peace
between
father
and
son.''
I
Had
Many
Girlfriends
''I
was
a
science
student
and
a
good
one
at
that.
While
I
wanted
to
become
an
engineer,
my
father
was
determined
that
I
take
up
commerce
and
join
the
family
business.
But
college
life
was
fun
I
was
into
theatre
and
had
many
girlfriends.''
When
He
Met
Sunil
Dutt
At
A
Party
''It
was
in
college
that
I
met
Gitanjali.
We
liked
each
other
and
started
going
steady.
I
almost
lost
my
chance
to
enter
Bollywood.''
''While
at
a
party,
I
chanced
upon
Sunil
Dutt,
who
was
in
the
process
of
making
a
movie
with
two
heroes,
one
of
whom
would
be
his
brother.
He
offered
me
the
other
role.''
When
His
Father
Threatened
To
Shoot
Him
''I
was
game
but
my
father
held
a
gun
to
my
head
and
said
he
would
shoot
me
if
I
ever
entered
Bollywood.
Finally,
my
mother
convinced
him
to
allow
me
to
join
the
industry
and
try
my
luck
for
two
years
if
I
didn't
click,
I
would
join
the
family
business.''
When
He
Decided
To
Get
Married
''Reel
life
was
a
cakewalk,
real
life
wasn't:
After
my
first
movie,
Mann
Ka
Meet,
was
released,
I
got
rave
reviews.
Within
a
week,
I
had
signed
15
films!
Since
I
had
become
successful,
Gitanjali
and
I
decided
to
get
married.
But
buying
a
house
was
tough.
Nobody
wanted
an
actor
as
a
neighbour.''
When
He
Left
Bollywood
''I
have
always
been
a
seeker.
In
the
film
industry,
I
had
money,
glamour,
fame
but
wondered
now
what?
Initially,
I
visited
Osho's
ashram
in
Pune
every
weekend.
I
even
diverted
shooting
schedules
to
Pune.
I
was
finally
initiated
on
December
31,
1975.
When
I
announced
my
retirement
from
films,
nobody
believed
me."
I
Was
Osho's
Mali
''I
was
Osho's
mali:
I
am
one
of
the
few
Indians
to
have
stayed
with
Osho
in
Rajneeshpuram,
the
city
he
built
in
America.
I
spent
four
years
with
Osho.
I
was
his
gardener,
I
cleaned
the
toilets,
I
did
the
dishes,
and
his
clothes
were
tried
out
on
me
because
we
were,
physically,
of
the
same
stature.''
The
Reason
Why
His
Divorce
Happened
''Gitanjali
couldn't
take
it
any
more.
While
I
was
at
Rajneeshpuram,
I
was
in
touch
with
my
family
over
the
phone.
But
those
were
terrible
times
for
my
sons
as
they
didn't
have
me
around
and
people
said,
Tumhara
baap
apne
guru
ke
saath
bhaag
gaya.''
''Reports
of
what
I
had
done
never
bothered
me
until
they
started
bothering
those
I
loved.
But
by
then,
it
was
too
late.
Gitanjali
and
I
settled
for
divorce.
When
I
returned
to
India,
I
had
nothing.''
When
He
Joined
The
Industry
Again
''I
went
back
to
Bollywood.
Returning
to
the
movies
was
the
easy
part.
It
was
leaving
my
guru
in
America
which
was
an
almost-impossible
decision
so
much
attached
was
I
to
Osho.
He
asked
me
to
run
the
Puna
ashram,
but
I
said
no.
That
is
the
most
difficult
no
I
have
ever
said
in
my
life.''