Vinod Khanna Traded 'Dirty Jokes' With Meenakshi Seshadri, Her Father: 'Used To Go To Ashram And...'

Actress Meenakshi Seshadri made her Hindi film debut in the 1980s and worked with several superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, and Shatrughan Sinha. Her chemistry with Vinod Khanna in films like Satyamev Jayate, Jurm, Police, Mujrim, Kshatriya and Humshakal was greatly appreciated by the audience. However, she quit the film industry in 1996 to focus on her personal life and settled in the USA. Now, as she is gearing up for her comeback, she recalled working with the late veteran actor.

In a recent conversation with Lehren Retro, Meenakshi said, “Vinod Khanna and I had a great equation. My dad loved visiting the sets when I was shooting with him. During lunchtime, we used to trade dirty jokes.”

“Vinod Khanna was a chill guy. He was at the top of his career. He used to go to the ashram and would come back and shoot,” she added. In an earlier interview with Filmfare, she said, “He’d listen to Osho Rajneesh’s tapes those days. He’d encourage me to listen to them, but never forced me. Later, he married Kavita Daftary. I attended some of their parties, something rare for me as I never socialised.”

“I’m not claiming that Vinodji was a great friend. But he was a gracious and inclusive person. On a lighter note, Vinodji brought out something in the Seshadris. My dad loved attending my shoots when I was filming with Vinodji. We three would share naughty jokes. Others would wonder what we were laughing at. I shared a fun relationship with my father where we shared jokes, played word games, etc. With Vinodji, it was an extension of that. I wasn’t comfortable with anyone else showing this side of my personality,” she added.

Meenakshi Seshadri has featured in films for nearly 13 years. After her hiatus from 1996, she made a guest appearance in Swami Vivekananda in 1998 and then in the 2016 film Ghayal: Once Again. After nearly 27 years, Meenakshi is keen on making a comeback. In an interview with ETimes, the actress said it would be interesting to see what kind of roles will be offered to her. “I think current filmmakers will want to know what I am like nowadays, what my artistic expression is before anybody decided to write a script for me,” she said.

Meenakshi made her acting debut with the film Painter Babu in 1983, produced by Manoj Kumar, and her second film Hero in 1983, which catapulted her to instant stardom. Meenakshi Seshadri was among the most popular actresses in the Hindi film industry. She has been a part of some of the biggest and most popular films in the 80s and 90s. She had a massive fan following and was known for her impeccable acting skills and beautiful looks. Her acting career was not just limited to Bollywood; she had worked in many South Indian films as well.