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 spiritual guru Osho at Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. The actor, who rarely speaks about his personal life, shared how deeply that decision shaped him.
“As a child, I couldn’t understand why he left”
Akshaye, who was around five at the time, recalled that he had no way of processing such a drastic move. Speaking to Mid-day, he said he simply could not grasp why someone who “had everything in life” would renounce it all. “It was impossible to understand it,” he said in the interview.
He explained that the idea of sanyaas — complete renunciation — went far beyond leaving home. “Sanyaas means giving up your life in totality, family is only a part of it,” he said. For a child, the decision felt bewildering. As an adult, however, Akshaye believes his father must have experienced something “deeply transformative” to take such a step. “A very basic fault line, an earthquake inside oneself, has to occur to make that decision,” he added.
Vinod Khanna’s unwavering commitment
Akshaye also said his father never took the decision lightly. Once Vinod Khanna joined Osho’s community, he did not return out of uncertainty or regret. What ultimately brought him back to India, Akshaye clarified, was the collapse of the Oregon commune following friction with U.S. authorities.
“From whatever I remember, disillusionment was not the reason. The commune was disbanded and destroyed. Otherwise, I don’t think he would’ve ever come back,” he said.
How teenage Akshaye found his own connection to Osho’s teachings
It was only in his mid-teens that Akshaye began reading Osho’s books and listening to his discourses. That exploration helped him view his father’s choices with empathy instead of confusion. “Something must have moved him so deeply inside that he felt that kind of decision was worth it,” he said.
Despite the emotional upheaval — including his parents Vinod and Gitanjali’s separation in 1985 — Akshaye carries no bitterness. Instead, he speaks fondly of Osho’s ideas. “I love him. I’ve read a lot 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 retreat from films at the peak 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 earns praise once again for his recent performance in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, he seems to view that turbulent period not as a wound, but as a formative experience that shaped his worldview and artistic depth.
