Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'' () also abbreviated as ''JJWS'' is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age sports film, directed and co-written by Mansoor Khan, and produced and co-written by Nasir Hussain. It stars Aamir Khan, Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Mamik Singh, Pooja Bedi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. The music was by Jatin–Lalit.

It won two Filmfare Awards, including Best Film. 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.

Plot

In 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

Production

The film was directed by Mansoor Khan, and written and produced by Nasir Hussain. Akshay Kumar had auditioned and Milind Soman was signed for Shekhar Malhotra's role, 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. 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 Sikandar''. 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.

Filming

Milind Soman had completed 75% of his scenes before being replaced by Tijori.

Music

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.

''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'' was the third best-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of 1992, having sold 2.5million units in India.

Release and reception

Box office

In India, ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'' net and grossed , equivalent to adjusted for inflation.

Critical reception

In 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.

Awards

; 38th Filmfare Awards:

Won

* 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

* List of films about bicycles and cycling

References

External links

*

{{FilmfareAwardBestFilm 1991–2010

1990s Hindi-language films
1990s sports films
1992 films
Cycling films
Films scored by Jatin–Lalit
Indian coming-of-age films
Indian sports films
Films shot in Kodaikanal
Films set in Dehradun
Indian coming-of-age comedy-drama films
Indian sports comedy-drama films
Films about social class
Films set in Uttarakhand
Films shot in Dehradun
Films set in universities and colleges
Films about competitions
Indian teen romance films
Indian teen drama films