Vinod Khanna, born on 6 October 1946, has his birth anniversary today. The late Bollywood actor was known for his charming appearance and flawless acting in Hindi films. Like a few stars in the industry, he too carved a niche in Bollywood by starting with anti-hero roles. He played grey roles in his first few films like Mere Apne, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Achanak etc. However, he then went on to become the eye candy of B-town with hit films in his kitty like Imtihaan, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Inkaar, Amar Akbar Anthony, The Burning Train, Qurbani, Kudrat, Parvarish, Khoon Pasina, Dayavan, Chandni etc. Not to forget, Khanna was also seen in recent films like Dabangg franchise and Dilwale. Here are a few lesser known facts about the actor that will leave you awestruck. Salman Khan Reveals Pramod Khanna Will Step into Late Actor Vinod Khanna's Shoes as Prajapati Pandey in Dabangg 3.

Dacoit of Bollywood

Sunil Dutt’s 1968 film, Man Ka Meet had him play the role of a villain. Many actors aspire to become the 'hero' of Bollywood as soon as they debut. However, he decided to be the anti-hero and earned the tag of 'dacoit' with his wonderful performance in this film. This made him stand out and was the first step towards stardom already.

The Monk Who Sold His Mercedes

Those who are die hard fans of the actor might already know about this term. The hunk of golden era of Bollywood was known as 'the monk who sold his Mercedes' as he went ahead with his spiritual journey, leaving behind luxuries. In fact, he also went ahead to change his name and keep it as Swami Vinod Bharti. He also went to Osho while on his path to spiritual journey.

Method Acting?

Method acting is no new thing for today's generation. However, did you know that Vinod Khanna took it seriously way back in 1971 too? Bollywood actor and his contemporary Dharmendra once told in an interview that the star literally bled himself in an action scene to make the scene look real in the film Mera Gaon Mera Desh!

Big B's Loss Was Vinod Khanna's Gain

There have been ample of examples of how the actors made gold out of the films rejected by the superstars. Vinod Khanna too is a part of this list. Everyone knows that the 1980 film Qurbani gave him the popularity that he deserved. But did you know that the film was offered to superstar Amitabh Bachchan? Of course he rejected it, and the role landed into Vinod Khanna's lap. It eventually became the highest-grossing film of that year.

We hope you enjoyed reading these rarely known facts about the late star. His movies and roles have always been celebrated and will always be. No one can fill his void in the industry and the only way to pay him tribute is to re-watch his films and appreciate them!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 06, 2019 09:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).