Girls would just swoon when he passed by even before he became an actor : Rishi Kapoor

 Rishi Kapoor, who acted with Vinod Khanna in more than five films and who shared a great friendship with the actor, mourns his death. 

Rishi Kapoor changed his profile picture on Twitter as a tribute to his friend and colleague, Vinod Khanna. Remembering the tough, incredibly handsome actor, Rishi Kapoor says,

"While talking to you about him I remembered that he's last of the Peshawar (someone originally from Peshawar, Pakistan) boys who made it in Bollywood. My grandfather was also from Peshawar. Vinod came during partition, while my grand dad came much earlier in 1927.

"Vinod Khanna has always been exceptionally good looking with a great personality. I know him even before he became an actor and I have witnessed women just almost swooning whenever he passed by, even before he turned an actor. He had a personality to match."

"He was a generous man and a big foodie. I remember while shooting for Eena Meena Deeka with him, he would bring delicious punjabi food from home for the whole unit. He would carry about 10-12 dabbas every day for the unit. I was the most delighted with that, because Neetu (Kapoor, his wife) would give me only boiled food in my tiffin. "

He was also exceptionally courageous and hot headed. He would just get into a fist fight with anyone who got him upset. I remember back in 1971, I was not even part of the industry. I was in London studying films. Vinod Khanna and his first wife Gitanjali were newly married and they were in London for honeymoon. They visited a sidey bar for the experience. Someone tried conning Vinod with money and this enraged Vinod. He just pulled him out of the bar and started thrashing him in front of the entire public. He hammered the shit out of him. When I got to know about this, I was totally amazed. Here's the guy who's come from London, knows nobody there, but has the guts to bash up a guy like that. That was Vinod Khanna for you."

"Dabboo (Randhir Kapoor), Chimpu (Rajeev Kapoor, their younger brother) and I went to visit the hospital where Vinod was. We couldn't meet him because of his condition. Kavita (Vinod Khanna's wife) came out to greet us and talk to us. She told me that right now he's spending time reading your autobiography and totally enjoying it. It was so heartening to hear that. I hope he liked it. I wish I could ask him that," Rishi says with a sigh.

"He will surely be missed," were Kapoor’s parting words.