Aamir Khan’s cousin quit successful Bollywood career and now lives as a cheese farmer in Coonoor, thinks talking about his blockbusters is ‘nonsense’

Filmmaker Mansoor Khan, who has directed hits such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, now lives as a farmer in Coonoor.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | November 23, 2024 09:10 AM IST

4 min read

Mansoor Khan poses with his family.

Filmmaker Mansoor Khan belonged to a successful film family, capitalised on his access by establishing himself as a director; he even worked with some of the generation’s biggest stars. But he was always sure about one thing: he didn’t want to be in Mumbai. Despite having directed memorable films such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, both starring his cousin Aamir Khan, Mansoor now lives in Coonoor, where he has a cheese farm. In an interview, he said that he finds conversations about his films to be ‘nonsense’, and would rather speak about what truly interests him about the world.

Appearing on the India Now and How YouTube channel, he said that he never thought of himself as either a film fan or a filmmaker. “The thing that most people don’t understand, because they know me as a successful filmmaker, is how I could leave all the fame and money behind. But actually, way before that, when I was in the US in 1978, I already knew that I didn’t want to live in Bombay,” he said.

Also read – ‘I would’ve destroyed Aamir Khan’s career’: Mansoor Khan reveals he’s still dissatisfied by Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, had ‘no idea’ what audience liked

Mansoor explained, “It wasn’t something that happened suddenly. It was a pre-determined plan. The only question was when I’d be able to escape. And I count myself lucky, because so many young people come to my farm and ask how I was able to do this in a place without medical facilities… I tell them that they don’t have to move to Coonoor; I just didn’t want to be in the city. This is heaven, but even an open field is good enough for me.”

Mansoor said that leaving the industry behind wasn’t a major decision for him, because he ‘didn’t want to make films anyway’. But it was a bit of a challenge for his wife, Tina, who had just established herself as a baker in Mumbai when he decided that they need to move. “I’m a very good convincer… She used to make cakes there, and she had a business with Aamir’s first wife, Reena. She said, ‘You’re pulling me out of here just when I found my vocation in life’, and she asked me what she will do here. I told her, ‘See, you make very good cakes, but everybody and their aunty and uncle make cakes here, so you need to make something different’.”

A still from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.

And that’s how they decided to make cheese. Mansoor said that he wouldn’t be ‘happy’ if his wife wasn’t happy in Coonoor as well, because he didn’t want to force her to do something she wasn’t into. But he stressed that he has no interest in talking about films, because he would rather focus on his work as a non-fiction writer. “I don’t want to talk about my films, what nonsense. How does it matter? How does it matter that I made a film that made people cry and laugh, when all the birds and rivers are dead? How does it matter? It’s a chauvinistic point of view to give literature and art and cinema such importance.”

Mansoor returned to Mumbai to work on Imran Khan’s debut film Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Na, and more recently again, to work on Junaid Khan’s second feature, Ek Din. His daughter, Zayn Marie, is also an actor.

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