Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (transl. The one who wins is the king) also abbreviated as JJWS is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age sports film, directed and co-written by Mansoor Khan,[2] and produced and co-written by Nasir Hussain. The film stars Aamir Khan,[3] Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Pooja Bedi, Mamik Singh and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. The music was by Jatin–Lalit.
| Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Mansoor Khan |
| Written by | Nasir Hussain Mansoor Khan |
| Produced by | Nasir Hussain |
| Starring | Aamir Khan Ayesha Jhulka Deepak Tijori Mamik Singh Pooja Bedi Kulbhushan Kharbanda |
| Cinematography | Najeeb Khan |
| Edited by | Zafar Sultan Dilip Kotalgi |
| Music by | Jatin–Lalit |
Production company | Nasir Hussain Films |
| Distributed by | Eros Worldwide |
Release date |
|
Running time | 169 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | ₹52 million[1] |
It won two Filmfare Awards, including Best Film.[4] It was remade in Telugu in 1999 as Thammudu which in turn was remade in multiple languages. The film has gained cult following along the years and has often been cited as one of the best coming-of-age movies in Indian cinema. [5][6]
Plot
editIn the hills of Dehradun, Shekhar Malhotra of Rajput School narrowly defeats Ratanlal Sharma of Model College in the main event marathon cycle race at the annual inter-school sports meet. Ratan vows to compete again, and his father Ramlal, an ex-champion himself, promises to save up and buy him an expensive new cycle to match Shekhar's.
Ramlal gives money to Ratan to put away, which he passes to his younger brother, Sanjay. Unlike Ratan, Sanjay is carefree and irresponsible. He comes across Devika, a new girl at Queen's College, who feels wronged by Shekhar. He uses her to get back at Shekhar, then impresses her with false tales of his family's wealth. Devika ends up falling for Sanjay and they start going out. Sanjay gets expensive gifts for her from the money he is supposed to put away for Ratan's new cycle.
At the inter-school dance competition, Sanjay's secret is revealed when Devika sees him participate with the group from the lowly Model College. She dumps him the next day, and Sanjay lashes out at Shekhar's friends after they taunt him. Ratan intervenes, only to be confronted the next morning by Shekhar's group again, when he is out training alone. He is hit on the head by a stick and falls off the cliff. At the hospital, Ratan enters a coma but eventually awakens. Though he will recover, he is ruled out from competing in the next cycle race.
Sanjay resolves to compete in Ratan's stead. He is helped by his tomboyish best friend, Anjali, who secretly has a crush on him. Seeing her devotion to him, Sanjay reciprocates as well. During the race, Shekhar and Sanjay tangle and fall off course. They rejoin at the back of the field, but overtake the other cyclists to lead in the final laps. Sanjay is on Shekhar's tail trying to get past. In the final moments, he edges Shekhar to win the race at the finish line.
Model is overjoyed to celebrate their first victory in years. Ramlal is happy to see Sanjay come of age, while Ratan feels vindicated at Sanjay's victory over Shekhar.
Cast
edit- Aamir Khan as Sanjaylal Sharma a.k.a. Sanju aka Sanjay Thapar
- Imran Khan as Young Sanjaylal
- Ayesha Jhulka as Anjali
- Deepak Tijori as Shekhar Malhotra
- Mamik Singh as Ratanlal Sharma a.k.a. Ratan
- Kiran Zaveri Bhatia as Kalpana
- Sooraj Thapar as Shekhar Malhotra's friend
- Prakash Ramchandani as Shekhar Malhotra's friend
- Bobby Khanna as Shekhar Malhotra's friend
- Pooja Bedi as Devika[7]
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Ramlal Sharma
- Aditya Lakhia as Maksood a.k.a. Ghode
- Deven Bhojani as Ghanshyam a.k.a. Ghanshu[7]
- Asrani as Mr. Dubey (Model school teacher)
- Faisal Khan in a special appearance (College student)
- Sharokh Bharucha as Young Ratanlal
- Anjan Srivastav as Race commentator
- Ajit Vachani as Rajput's Principal
- Deb Mukherjee as Rajput's Coach
- Ravindra Kapoor as Shakoor Miyaan
- Jatin Pandit as Xavier's college student and performer at the college dance event
- Lalit Pandit as Xavier's college student and guitarist at college dance event
- Amol Gupte as cycle race commentator
- Girija Shettar as lead in the song "Jawa ho yaaron song" - Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
- Ahmed Khan as Girdhari aka Anjali's Father
- Shehnaz Kudia as Rukhsana aka Devika's friend and classmate
- Naushad Abbas as School fighter who gets thrown on the car and injured by Mamik
- Jahangir as Dance Judge
- Hanif Sheikh as School fighter
- Shekhar Shukla as smoking the cigarette that caught fire
- Shiraz Zack as Rita
- Miki Khan as Randheer Thapar
- Salim Khan Ding-Dong as Himself
Production
editThe film was directed by Mansoor Khan, and written and produced by Nasir Hussain.[8] Akshay Kumar had auditioned[9] and Milind Soman was signed for Shekhar Malhotra's role,[10] before Deepak Tijori played the role. Aditya Pancholi was selected to play the role of Ratan, but the role went to Mamik Singh, as confirmed by DNA.
The plot has similarities to the 1979 American film Breaking Away and is reportedly inspired by it.[11][12] However, Mansoor Khan stated that he only became aware of Breaking Away after the likeness was brought to his attention, some time after the release of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. Both films have several similarities, including friendship, class barriers, bicycle racing, and parental relationship, but otherwise have different narratives, characters, motivations, treatment and racing rules.[13]
Filming
editMilind Soman had completed 75% of his scenes before being replaced by Tijori.[14]
Music
edit| Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 35:01 | |||
| Label | Saregama | |||
| Producer | Jatin–Lalit | |||
| Jatin–Lalit chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Majrooh Sultanpuri chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Planet Bollywood |   [15] |
The film's music was composed by Jatin–Lalit and the lyrics were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Vocals for Aamir Khan were supplied by his then-frequent collaborator Udit Narayan.
The soundtrack, the second collaboration between Jatin and Lalit, helped to launch their careers. It was nominated for Best Music at the 1993 Filmfare Awards. "Pehla Nasha" was the fourth film song in Indian cinema (the first one being "Jogi O Jogi" from Lakhon Mein Ek (1971), followed by "Baare Baare" from Naagarahaavu (1972) and "Sundari Neeyum" from Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990)) to be shot in complete slow motion. The technique was later used in many films and music videos. Pehla Nasha was the most popular track of the album and has become a cult song. Other popular tracks were "Humse Hai Sara Jahan", "Rooth Ke Humse" and "Arre Yaaron Mere Pyaaron". The song "Arre Yaaron Mere Pyaaron" was sung by Udit Narayan along with Vijeta Pandit.[16]
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar was the third best-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of 1992, having sold 2.5 million units in India.[17]
All lyrics are written by Majrooh Sultanpuri; all music is composed by Jatin–Lalit
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yahaan Ke Hum Sikander" | Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam, Jatin–Lalit | 5:29 |
| 2. | "Naam Hai Mera Fonseca" | Amit Kumar, Alka Yagnik | 4:41 |
| 3. | "Arre Yaaron Mere Pyaaron" | Udit Narayan, Vijeta Pandit | 5:16 |
| 4. | "Humse Hai Sara Jahan" | Jatin Pandit, Sadhana Sargam | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Pehla Nasha" | Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam | 4:51 |
| 6. | "Rooth Ke Humse" | Jatin Pandit | 5:15 |
| 7. | "Shehar Ki Pariyon" | Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam | 5:16 |
Release and reception
editBox office
editIn India, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar net ₹40 million and grossed ₹52 million (US$2.01 million),[1] equivalent to ₹927 million (US$11 million) adjusted for inflation.[18]
Critical reception
editIn a review dated 29 May 1992, The Indian Express praised Najeeb Khan's photography, the sets and the performances of Aamir Khan, Ayesha Jhulka, and Pooja Bedi, but criticised Jatin–Lalit's music.[19]
Awards
editWon
- Best Film – Nasir Hussain
- Best Editing – Zafar Sultan and Dilip Katalgi
Nominated
- Best Director – Mansoor Khan
- Best Actor – Aamir Khan
- Best Supporting Actress – Pooja Bedi
- Best Music Director – Jatin–Lalit
- Best Lyricist – Majrooh Sultanpuri for "Woh Sikandar Hi Doston"
- Best Male Playback Singer – Udit Narayan for "Pehla Nasha"
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Box Office 1992". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ Rewind | Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar | Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star on YouTube
- ^ "Whoa! Aamir Khan Is 'World's Biggest Superstar'!". 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ Indian High Commission, Pakistan, Cine Club (2008), Programme: January to March 2008 (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2020, retrieved 2 July 2012
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Once Upon A Cinema: Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar — The making of a classic, twice over". Firstpost. 29 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander at 30: Akshay Kumar was rejected for this Aamir Khan film, Pooja Bedi's red skirt sequence acquired a cult status". 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Nasir Hussain". Upperstall.com. 2002. Archived from the original on 14 June 2002.
- ^ "Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar: Some interesting facts about Bollywood Khiladi". 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Movies: The Milind Soman interview". rediff.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ Dave, Kajol. "Copy cats". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ Srivastava, Abhishek (14 March 2018). "Aamir Khan's best films are inspired by Oscar nominees and winners – from Ghajini to Akele Hum Akele Tum". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Classic Revisited: Aamir Khan's coming-of-age in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar". Rediff. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Milind Soman left Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander after finishing 75 per cent of shoot. Because he wasn't given breakfast on time". The Indian Express. 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar Music Review". Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ "Songs at www.glamsham.com". Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ "Music Hits 1990–1999 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "Darr – Movie (1993 inflation rate)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Entertaining all the way". The Indian Express. 29 May 1992. p. 7. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2018.