Why Mansoor Khan Didn’t Direct Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander First
Mansoor Khan made his Bollywood directorial debut with the superhit romance musical ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, starring Aamir Khan in his first lead role opposite Juhi Chawla.
He went on to cast his cousin in his second and third films, the sports drama ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander’ and the romance flick ‘Akele Hum Akele Tum’ as well.
In a new interview, Mansoor revealed that instead of ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, he was to make his debut with ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander’, and revealed why it could have destroyed Aamir’s career.
Reflecting on the timeline of events, Mansoor shared, “I began writing a story, which eventually became Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar… Daddy [Filmmaker Nasir Husain] was writing Qayamat, to launch Aamir.”
“We started in 1986, and the film was released in 1988; I’m a slow filmmaker. But the point is, even I had Aamir in mind for Jo Jeeta; he would’ve been 19-20 at the time. Thankfully, I didn’t make that film. I would’ve destroyed Aamir’s career,” he divulged.
Aamir Khan announced his retirement from films
The filmmaker continued to reveal that he wasn’t happy with the script of his sports film when his father offered him to direct ‘QSQT’. “I asked him, ‘What is this film about?’ And he said, ‘It’s a love story’. I said, ‘But every Hindi film is a love story’,” he recalled adding that he was not happy with the film and is still not pleased with the way it turned out.
“My dad understood the audience’s pulse, but I had no idea. I wasn’t a film person… But I realized that people had even enjoyed the scenes I disliked. So I rethought and rewrote Jo Jeeta,” he concluded.
Notably, both films were major hits and contributed to establishing Aamir as one of the leading stars of Bollywood.
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