“The tragic news of his passing away came as a shattering shock to me. My memorable association with Vinod Khanna-ji dates back to 1968 when we both made our screen-debuts in this movie ‘Man Ka Meet’ produced by Sunil Dutt-saab. Which had Vinod playing the villain and debutant Som Dutt as the hero. We were both learning to speak Urdu correctly and being coached by Sunil Dutt-saab and during the shooting we had a warm professional camaraderie. Not only was VK a natural charismatic actor, he was also daring by nature. When it came to doing risky action-stunt scenes, he would prefer doing it himself, instead of using a ‘body double’. ‘Arrey screen par villain hai to kya hua, real-life mein toh hero ban sakta hoon,’ he would chuckle.
Although he had this tough exterior and rugged look which could intimidate you, by nature, he was soft-hearted, jovial and sentimental. Off-screen, VK was there to provide me proactive moral support when I went thru my personal agony and crisis. It was always a delight to work with him, because he would put in 200 per cent of his efforts into every role be it positive or negative. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”