Vinod Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer and politician. He was the recipient of two Filmfare awards. He was also an active politician and was the MP from the Gurdaspur constituency between 1998–2009 and 2014–2017. In July 2002, Khanna became the minister for Culture and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. Six months later, he became the Minister of State for external affairs.