Kavita Khanna Reveals Vinod Khanna's Traumatic Osho Ashram Ordeal
Vinod Khanna's dramatic departure from Bollywood at the height of his career to join Osho Rajneesh's spiritual movement remains one of Indian cinema's most intriguing stories. Now, his second wife Kavita Khanna has provided unprecedented insight into the actor's turbulent years at Osho's controversial Oregon commune, revealing traumatic experiences that left him psychologically scarred.
The Oregon Commune: A Dangerous Environment
Speaking on her YouTube channel, Kavita Khanna reflected on the period when Osho's followers established their commune in Oregon, a phase later documented in the Netflix series Wild Wild Country. She described how Osho had largely retreated into silence, leaving day-to-day control to his secretary Ma Anand Sheela.
"As he became more withdrawn, his secretary took complete control and charge of what was happening," Kavita recalled. "They built a city, and I think they even wanted to win elections. Just crazy things were happening there. They had their own army with, I think, AK-47s or the equivalent. No one could understand what was going on."
At this stage, Kavita had not yet met Vinod, who had left his first wife Geetanjali Khanna and their two children Akshaye and Rahul to pursue spiritual enlightenment.
Poisoned Water and Psychological Trauma
Describing Sheela as "tyrannical," Kavita spoke about the tense and fearful atmosphere within the commune. She revealed a particularly disturbing incident where the water supply had been poisoned, causing Vinod to fall seriously ill.
"I believe and everyone used to say that she's tyrannical. Then there was the whole issue of the water supply being poisoned, and Vinod had fallen ill. So there was a lot of fear," she shared. "And it wasn't just fear for him. For him, a very, very critical issue was that he hadn't seen his children. He used to tell me that he would just be crying, and he couldn't go back to India because if he did, he wouldn't be able to return."
Escape and Aftermath
According to Kavita, Vinod's exit from Oregon happened just before the commune's collapse. "Luckily, his cousin came and got him out before the whole thing fell apart. Then Osho was arrested, and Sheela was arrested. Sheela, of course, stayed in jail."
But returning to India did not bring immediate peace. Kavita revealed that Vinod was deeply shaken by his experiences. "When he left Oregon, he was very, very traumatised, not just internally, but it showed externally as well. He told me that he would go on set, deliver an amazing shot, come back into his van, and then just sit there weeping and weeping."
Refusing Osho's Offer
In a remarkable revelation, Kavita shared that Osho had once invited Vinod to take over the Pune ashram—an offer the actor ultimately declined. "When Osho came back from Oregon, he came to Delhi. Vinod drove him to Manali. They spent a month there. Then, when they returned, Osho told Vinod that he wanted him to take charge of the ashram in Pune," she explained.
"Vinod said that, for the first and only time, he said no to his guru. And that was it. Vinod never met Osho after that. He went back into the film industry and was doing extremely well."
Balancing Cinema and Spirituality
Kavita also provided context about how Vinod's spiritual journey began during an intensely painful personal phase. "I think he started listening to Osho's discourses, as they went through a terrible period in their lives, with five deaths in the family, including people who were particularly close to him, like his mother. When his mother died, he went to the ashram and took sanyas. That's how that journey began," she said.
Despite his spiritual immersion, Vinod continued to honor his professional commitments. Kavita noted how he balanced cinema and ascetic life simultaneously. "Most people don't know that for three years, while completing the films he had already signed, which included super hits like Hera Pheri and Qurbani, where he looked his absolute best, he would come and shoot. If the shoot was on location, he'd be there, but his base was Pune."
She described his living conditions: "He had a room in the ashram that was just four feet by six feet. Osho even joked about it in his discourses, saying the room was so small that he had to step over the bed and sleep diagonally because there was barely any space. He literally had to step over the bed to enter the room."
These revelations from Kavita Khanna provide a comprehensive look at one of Bollywood's most enigmatic figures, shedding light on the psychological toll of his spiritual quest and the remarkable resilience he demonstrated in rebuilding his life and career after traumatic experiences at Osho's Oregon commune.
