Over the years, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has delivered several hits and blockbusters, including cult classics. The actor, who has completed four decades in the film industry, recently revealed in an interview with Too Filmy that Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar was the most “torturous” film to shoot.
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Aamir Khan recalls shooting Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar twice
Recalling how the film had to be shot twice, Aamir said, “Bohot torture hua. Voh film do dafa bani” (It was a huge torture. That film was made twice). “Pehli dafa jab bani, we shot in Kodai and Ooty. We shot for 60-70 days. Shoot ended, and I was shooting for another film. Mansoor then called me two months later and said, ‘There is a problem, Devika ka character work nahi ho raha hai’” (Devika’s character is not working). Us waqt Devika ka character koi aur play kar raha tha, Pooja Bedi nahi thi. Mansoor ne khud accept kiya ki galti unki thi, galat casting ho gayi thi. Jo actress cast ki thi, voh bohot achi insaan thi, but film ko jo chhoti si snobbish ladki chahiye thi, voh feel nahi aa raha tha. So he said that we would have to shoot all the scenes again.” (At that time, Devika’s character was being played by someone else, not Pooja Bedi. Mansoor himself accepted that it was his mistake and that he had done the wrong castingThe actress he had cast was a very nice person, but the film needed a young, snobbish girl, and that feel was missing).
He further explained that 40% of the film featured Devika’s scenes with him, another 40% was with Ayesha Jhulka, and the remaining 20% involved the rest of the cast. Aamir recalled feeling that he had done exceptional work in those scenes, but then Pooja Bedi was brought in.
He added, “Aakhri 20% jo film ka tha, usme 4 actors the—main unka naam nahi loonga—par woh bohot badtameez the. Humein bohot takleef de rahe the. Maine Mansoor se bola, ‘Agar hum 80% film dobara bana rahe hain, to yeh 20% bhi kar lete hain’. To humne puri film dobara shoot ki. Pura cast badal gaya, sirf main, meri bicycle aur Mamik nahi badle. Bohot takleef hui film banane mein” (The last 20% of the film had four actors—I won’t take their names—but they were very ill-mannered. They troubled us a lot. I told Mansoor, ‘If we are reshooting 80% of the film, then let’s redo this 20% as well’. So we shot the entire film again, the entire cast changed, except for me, the bicycle, and Mamik. It was a very difficult process to make the film).
About Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
Despite the challenges, the 1992 coming-of-age sports drama emerged as a box office success. Directed by Mansoor Khan, the film starred Aamir Khan, Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Pooja Bedi, Mamik Singh, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Over the years, it has gained a cult following.
Aamir Khan’s upcoming film
Aamir will next be seen in Sitaare Zameen Par, marking his comeback after Laal Singh Chaddha’s failure. The film, which also stars Genelia Deshmukh in the lead role, is described as a spiritual sequel to Taare Zameen Par.
Talking about the project in an interview with Hollywood Reporter India, Aamir said, “Well, it’s a beautiful story. Actually, the easiest way I can describe it is that Taare Zameen Par is a very emotional film that makes you cry, whereas Sitaare Zameen Par makes you laugh. It’s a humorous film. The theme is similar—of people with different abilities, different intelligence, or different challenges—but this time, it leans more towards humour rather than emotions.”
