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Actor Deepak Tijori, who rose to fame in the 1990s with a series of supporting roles in popular films, spoke about the circumstances in which he landed a role in the film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, starring Aamir Khan. Deepak said in an interview that he had initially been rejected for the role after an audition, but heard months later that the project had stalled for some reason. He received a summons to the Ooty set, where he was told that he needs to bail the production out by taking over the role that had been given to Milind Soman.
Chatting with Radio Nasha, Deepak recalled, “The film was almost shut, apparently. Around 75% of it had been done. Jo Jeeta was a movie I really wanted to do, and when I didn’t get it, I was very upset. But I moved on after some time. A few months later, we heard rumours that things had derailed in Ooty, and that actors had walked off the set. One day, Bhatt saab, who was shooting Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahi in Ooty, called me and said that I must go to the Jo Jeeta set because Aamir Khan and Mansoor Khan had asked for me.”
Deepak was wary of being disappointed again, but because the request had come directly from his mentor Mahesh Bhatt, he went over. There, he was told by the film’s producer, Nasir Hussain, that they needed him to step in for the role of Shekhar. Deepak said that he first made sure that Milind Soman was aware he was being replaced, and only then agreed to take over the role. “I found out that the film was stalled. It wasn’t moving forward. I got to meet Nasir saab, who said, ‘Beta, aapko yeh karna hai‘, and I said, ‘Sir, aapne bol diya toh baat khatam hogayi‘. Bhatt saab, Aamir, and everyone had asked me to do it, so I was going to do it,” he said.
In an interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, Milind said that he walked out of the film because he wasn’t treated well. The triggering point was not being given food on time. “I threw my bicycle saying ‘where’s my breakfast?’ They offered me nothing. I was not at home, I was at the mercy of the production for food,” he said. “What was important for me was that I should be happy doing what I am doing, and if I am not, then it doesn’t work.”
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar emerged as a landmark film of the 1990s, and propelled Deepak Tijori and Aamir Khan to greater heights. It also starred Pooja Bedi, and featured a memorable soundtrack composed by Jatin-Lalit.
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