New Delhi: Deven Bhojani, a beloved actor known for his role in 'Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’, gave an intriguing behind-the-scenes look into ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ by discussing the intricacies of the casting process. Deven is also a formally trained film director, who took the duty of an assistant director in a 1992 cult film starring Aamir Khan. He revealed that there were multiple replacements in the film after one and a half months of shooting.
Deven Bhojani On Replacing Farah Khan
Deven Bhojani discussed that Farah Khan was the initial assistant director in 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar' but she got busy since she was also choreographing in the film. He shared, “During, 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar,' I was acting and then I also was assisting. When it started, I was not (assisting). Farah Khan was an assistant. Then, she got busy as a choreographer and then there was a place and I joined. Then, we shot the whole film again. For some 40 50% of the shoot we had to re-shoot the whole thing because we replaced a few of the artists.”
Actors Replacement in ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’
According to Deven, the film faced significant casting changes due to various reasons. The lead actors of the film were replaced by the makers. He said, “Milind Soman was playing Deepak Tijori's role. There was an actress, Karishma Pahuja, who was playing Pooja Bedi's role. One Girija was playing Ayesha Jhulka's role.”
He continued by saying that the makers had to replace many actors since they all had some problems. “We were shooting and we shot one schedule about 1 and a half months in Ooty and then we all came back. Something happened between the producer and the director. Sabka alag alag reason that. Kisi ke sath tantrum wala reason tha. Kisi ka tuning nahin jama. Kisi ka late uthne ka habit tha or whatever. Aise alag alag reason ki wajah see, there were muti replacements. I was in the first thing also and even when we continued (Everyone had different reasons. Some had a tantrum. Some didn't get along well with someone. Some had a habit of getting up late or whatever)”, he said.
Deven also shared that he was only an actor in the first film but while re shooting, Aamir Khan advised him to join as an assistant director.
About 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'
Directed by Mansoor Khan, 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar' is a coming-of-age sports drama that follows the journey of three friends as they prepare to win a cycling race. The film was a financial and critical smash, establishing Aamir Khan as one of Bollywood's most prominent actors. The film also features Deepak Tijori, Ayesha Jhulka, and Pooja Bedi.