Bollywood actor turned politician Vinod Khanna has died in Mumbai at the age of 70.

Tushar Pania, a spokesman for the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in the Indian city, said Khanna died on Thursday of bladder cancer.

Khanna made his Bollywood debut in 1968 and acted in more than 100 films.

His popular performances included Mere Apne (My Own), Mera Gaon Mera Desh (My Village, My Country), Gaddaar (Traitor), Kachhe Dhaage (Delicate Thread) and Amar Akbar Anthony. In 1982, he temporarily quit the film industry to join spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh, resuming his film career five years later.

In 1997 he became a politician with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. He also served as junior external affairs minister.

He married his first wife, Geetanjali, in 1971 and they had two sons, Rahul Khanna and Akshaye Khanna, who also became Bollywood actors.

The marriage ended in divorce, and he married his second wife, Kavita, in 1990. They had two children - a son and a daughter.