When Osho Rajneesh Threatened To 'Destroy' Mahesh Bhatt: "He Was Defeated By His Girlfriend And Became A Non-Sannyasi"

New Delhi:

At the height of his stardom, Vinod Khanna made a decision that stunned the Hindi film industry: he walked away from his flourishing career, his family, and the arc lights of Bollywood to follow spiritual leader Osho and become a sanyasi. 

While this chapter of Khanna's life is widely known, what is less discussed is the role filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt played in introducing him to the controversial guru, and the dramatic fallout that followed.

What's Happening

• In an old interaction on Arbaaz Khan's chat show, Mahesh Bhatt opened up about his own spiritual quest during a difficult phase in his career. 
• "I was a normal guy. I made films such as Vishwasghaat and Manzilien Aur Bhi Hain that flopped. So, I was into the spiritual supermarket; I went to Osho Rajneesh, who was a charismatic guru from Pune. I went to him and devoted myself to him... ochre robes and meditation five times a day," Bhatt said.
• Bhatt admitted that he was the one who took Vinod Khanna to meet Osho, saying, "I took Vinod Khanna to Osho Rajneesh. While I broke the (connection), he continued. 
• He said, "I broke the mala and threw it down the commode. I thought that I still feel envious but I am saying holy words... I feel like a hypocrite. I can't lie to the world and myself."
• According to Bhatt, Osho did not take his exit lightly. He recalled receiving a message from the guru through Khanna. 
• He said, "Vinod called me from Filmistan and said Bhagwan is very angry. You broke the mala and threw it in the commode. I said 'yes, I have done that. This is worthless; I am a damn fool.' He said Bhagwan has said ask Mahesh to come back and hand over the mala in person, otherwise he said', and Vinod lowered his voice, 'he will destroy you'."
• "Mahesh Bhatt Was Defeated By His Girlfriend": Osho
• Osho, in his book The 99 Names of Nothingness, also wrote about his split with Bhatt. "I knew that this was going to happen. I knew, because there were only two alternatives: either his girlfriend was going to become a sannyasin, or he was going to become a non-sannyasin... and he was defeated by her," he wrote.
• Calling Bhatt a 'mouse' for getting influenced by his girlfriend, Osho added, "I call it a tragedy, because once that power is destroyed she will no more be interested in the man. This is the dilemma: she is interested in power, then the power feels frightening. If the man remains so powerful then she will remain dependent; she will never be the whole - and soon she starts playing feminine tricks. And because he loves her, the man goes on yielding... Once he starts yielding, the lion disappears and the mouse is born, and no woman is interested in a mouse, no woman at all. Once she has reduced the man to a mouse, she is finished, and as I can see, that is what has happened."
• While Bhatt distanced himself from Osho, Vinod Khanna remained devoted and eventually moved to the guru's ashram in Oregon, USA. 
• However, after the collapse of Osho's commune in the United States, Khanna returned to Mumbai.

Background

Mahesh Bhatt later described their reunion in an interview with Subhash K Jha. 

"When I turned away, he stayed-and then disappeared to Oregon. I even flew to America once, to try and bring him back. But he was too far gone. When the Rajneesh dream collapsed, he returned broken. I met him again in a small flat opposite Jaslok Hospital," he said.

He added, "We drank that evening till we were smashed. But he spoke little. The old fire was gone. He tried to find his footing in the movie world again, but the dizzying heights he had once scaled remained just beyond reach. He drifted into politics; I stayed with my stories."

Following his return, Khanna did manage a second innings of sorts. 

He appeared in commercially successful films such as Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate (1987), and later took on character roles in films including Chandni, Dayavan, and, years later, Dabangg. Despite these appearances, he never fully regained the superstar status he once enjoyed in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Khanna eventually entered politics and served as a Member of Parliament. He died in 2003.