Rajesh Khanna always was considered the first superstar of Bollywood. He set many records at the box office with several superhit films, but could not maintain his stardom. It is said that he started getting tough competition from many stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha, and Sanjeev Kapoor.
There was an influx of many stars in Bollywood in the 70s and 80s who came in and threatened the well-held positions of many superstars. There was one such actor in this era who ruled the silver screen for many years but then lost all his stardom in one go. After years, he made a comeback with a soap ad and became so popular that he gave a tough competition to a Pakistani cricketer.
We are not talking about Amitabh Bachchan or Dharmendra but Vinod Khanna who entered the film industry and then became an overnight star. However, at the peak of his career, Vinod Khanna decided to become a sanyasi which changed the direction of his career.
In the year 1982, Vinod Khanna said goodbye to Bollywood and took refuge in Osho's Ashram in Pune. His fans were shocked by this decision. For 5 years, he was immersed in Osho's devotion after which he decided to make a comeback to Bollywood.
Despite trying to make a comeback, Vinod Khanna could not succeed. He could not achieve the same fame. However, things changed when he got to star in a soap ad and regained his stardom.
According to media reports, in 1987, Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan was seen in an advertisement for Cinthol soap. Apart from being a great cricketer, Imran Khan was also very handsome, which the brands took full advantage of. Everyone wanted to have him in their advertisements. Imran Khan was the brand ambassador of Cinthol soap. Cinthol's competitors started getting worried but it was not easy for any other brand to reach the heights to which Imran Khan had taken Cinthol.
But a problem propped up for Godrej when India and Pakistan's relationship deteriorated again. All Pakistani products were boycotted and in such a situation Godrej company had to stop advertising the ad starring Imran Khan.
It was at this time when Vinod Khanna's name propped up and he was contacted to star in the Cinthol ad.
In the ad, Vinod Khanna could be seen running with the horse and then jumping and sitting on the horse.
In 1989, this ad for the Cinthol soap featuring Vinod Khanna was released on Doordarshan. Not only Godrej company but Vinod Khanna also benefited a lot from this ad. It gave tough competition to the ad featuring Imran Khan and helped Vinod Khanna achieve his lost stardom.
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