Milind Soman Was FIRED From 'JJWS', Mansoor Khan Recalls Aamir's Tough Call, 'Throw These Guys Out'

Aamir Khan’s 1992 classic, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, remains one of the most cherished films in Bollywood. However, what many people might not realise is that it faced numerous trials, failures, setbacks, and chaos behind the scenes, nearly derailing the project. Filmmaker Mansoor Khan revealed in a recent interview that Aamir Khan’s timely intervention helped rescue the project, prompting him to make difficult decisions, one of which included replacing Milind Soman with Deepak Tijori in a key role.

Mansoor Khan opens up on the casting misfire of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

In a recent interview with SCREEN, Mansoor Khan admitted that the film was on the brink of collapse due to disastrous casting decisions. The filmmaker, who launched Aamir Khan to superstardom with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, recalled the string of poor choices during the early stages of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, which almost derailed the project. He was quoted as saying:

“I cast a bunch of people, and it was my mistake. It was the wrong cast… everyone who initially came into the project, for one reason or another, I rejected the right ones and picked the wrong ones. 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… The film was turning out really badly, and it also nearly stalled.”

How Aamir Khan helped Mansoor Khan get the film back on track

While he didn’t take any names initially, Mansoor described the original cast of JJWS as ‘absolutely unprofessional’ and made the entire crew miserable. However, when he was on the brink of giving up, Mansoor’s cousin and the film’s lead actor, Aamir Khan, urged him to reshuffle the cast and remove the troublemakers for good. The director recalled:

“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… I felt like giving up. But the film’s story is about getting up and winning… 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.”

The former cast later bashed him and Aamir in the press, but they didn’t pay heed to them. Ironically, some of the ousted actors, including Milind Soman, later returned, trying to reconcile. Soman had originally been cast in the role that eventually went to Deepak Tijori. Mansoor shared:

“Some of those same people came back to me later, including Milind Soman. They didn’t understand filmmaking... They came in with strange ideas. But again, the mistake was mine. I shouldn’t have cast them… 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.”

About Aamir Khan's cult classic, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

Despite all the setbacks, Aamir’s one tough advice ultimately turned things around, giving the world Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, now hailed as a cult classic. The film went on to become one of India’s most cherished coming-of-age films, starring Aamir Khan, Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Mamik Singh, and Pooja Bedi.

What are your thoughts about Mansoor Khan’s behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar?

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