Often described as an unofficial remake of the 1979 American coming-of-age classic Breaking Away, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar has long been associated with its supposed Western inspiration. But director Mansoor Khan, in an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, reveals that the roots of the film are far more personal. “The film is actually semi-autobiographical,” Khan shares. “A lot of Aamir Khan’s character, Sanju, was actually derived from my own life.”
‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sokandar not inspired by Hollywood’
Recalling his early years, Khan says, “I dropped out of MIT and came back from the US, and when I came back, I was a lost soul. And basically, I was feeling this guilt, that I had wasted so much of my parents’ money. And now I was acting like an angry young kid who’s angry with the whole world, but actually, he should be angry with himself.” Before Jo Jeeta, Khan channeled these feelings into a video film. “So, I made a video film, actually, about a guy who just wants to laze around. It was a full one-hour-forty-minute film with two songs and background music. The first film to be made on video, I’m talking about 1982.”
Director Mansoor Khan revealed that the character of Sanju in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar was inspired by his own personality.
The film, titled Umberto, ended on a rather unconventional note. “It was a tragic ending, because the guy is so useless that by the time he straightens up, the girl he likes. and who loves him, he loses her to his arch rival, Umberto. And he’s the guy who works, earns, and is the responsible son and all that. And these two guys live one above the other. And the guy was called Amole. In the film, Amole himself played the character, Amol Gupte. And the Amole character was exactly like me. So basically, that was the premise. And then later that premise evolved into Jo Jeeta. See, Jo Jeeta is not a cycling film, say like Breaking Away. The idea was not to have a cycle race or any kind of race. Jo Jeeta, for me, is an awakening film.”
‘Original Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar cast unprofessional’
While speaking about Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Khan also admits the film came dangerously close to collapse, largely due to his own casting misjudgments. He reveals that nearly 60–70% of the film had to be reshot after early choices in the cast proved disastrous. “I cast a bunch of people, and it was my mistake. It was the wrong cast,” Khan admits. “I actually feel I should write a book on Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. That’s the one film where everything felt like fate, a true child of destiny. So many amazing things happened. Strangely, everyone who initially came into the project, for one reason or another, I rejected the right ones and picked the wrong ones.”
Those decisions soon took a toll on the production. “We shot for 40–45 days in and around Ooty, Coonoor, then came back to Bombay and shot a lot more, including the songs. But I could see the film was going nowhere,” he recalls. “I won’t take names, but those people were absolutely unprofessional. They made life miserable, not just for me, but for the entire crew. The film was turning out really badly, and it also nearly stalled.” At his lowest point, Khan even considered abandoning the project. “I felt like giving up. But the film’s story is about getting up and winning. So in a way, life was mirroring art,” he says. “We stayed quiet. We threw those guys out. They went to the press, said all kinds of nasty things about me and Aamir. But we didn’t respond. Our focus was clear, we had a film to make, and a good one. And in the end, the result is in front of you.”
‘Milind Soman came back to me’
Ironically, many of the people he let go tried to return once the tide turned. “Some of those same people came back to me later, including Milind Soman,” Khan reveals. “They didn’t understand filmmaking. They didn’t understand humility, or the director’s role, or that the film is bigger than any individual, bigger than the actor, the director, or the producer. They came in with strange ideas. But again, the mistake was mine. I shouldn’t have cast them.” The turning point came when Milind Soman exited and Deepak Tijori stepped in. “Why I call it a child of destiny is because Milind went out, and Deepak came in. Deepak had actually tested with Milind. But Milind got the part, based on his looks and physique. I wasn’t making casting decisions properly back then,” Khan confesses.
Story continues below this ad
Mansoor Khan revealed that he cast Milind Soman in the film solely because of his physique and looks, a decision he later realised was not a good one.
What ultimately saved the film, Khan says, was the support of Aamir Khan. “The person who pulled me out of it was Aamir. He said, ‘Throw these guys out. We’ll make a good film.’ I was in a really dark place then, depressed, on the verge of a breakdown. I used to wake up in the middle of the night crying during the shoot.” Despite the ordeal, Khan says he holds no grudges. “I don’t dwell on it. I just say: Fine. You did what you did. You lost a good film. You lost credibility. You didn’t respect me, or the film, and that always comes back around.”
