'Vinod was so good at conveying romantic thoughts! A truly handsome man, he would make the ladies swoon.'
"I'll always remember Vinod Khanna as a thorough gentleman, cultured, polite, who knew how to conduct himself with the ladies," Zeenat Aman says of her Qurbani co-star.
"With Vinod, things were always proper on the sets. He would come on time, say his polite hellos, shoot and leave. There was never any question of unpleasantness," she adds.
The first film they did together was Bombay 405 Miles, which also featured Shatrughan Sinha. "It was truckloads of fun because it was a fun subject. Tragically, Brij Sadanah, who directed us in the film, died a gruesome death."
Khanna and Aman then came together for the Feroz Khan blockbuster Qurbani.
"Feroz was in charge and fully in control. We would come on the sets, do our work and go away," she says.
"We shot the song Hum Tumhein Chahte Hain Aise by a lakeside. Though the song was a duet, it was filmed as a solo number on Vinod Khanna. I had to react to his singing and it worked," she says.
"Vinod was so good at conveying romantic thoughts! A truly handsome man, he would make the ladies swoon," she says.
"But he was not conscious or vain about his looks. He was always proper in his behaviour. You would never catch Vinod screaming or getting impatient on the sets. There was never any fireworks or excitement when we were shooting together. Vinod was always proper, always correct in his behaviour. A thorough gentleman. We didn't meet in recent years. He had his life. I had mine. And now, we shall never meet," she says.
Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar
- Vinod Khanna: An actor with a touch of sadness
- Goodbye, Vinod! Khanna's schoolmates pay tribute
- Touching scenes at Vinod Khanna's funeral
- Vinod Khanna's star turn, over the years
- Vinod Khanna's Life in Pictures
- Farewell Vinod Khanna: Heaven must be full of swagger today
- 'My dear friend Vinod Khanna... will miss you'
- Shabana: I will always be thankful to Vinod Khanna
