JoJeeta Wohi Sikandar was inspired by the 1979 American film Breaking Away.[4][5] It won two Filmfare Awards, including Best Film.[6] 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. [7][8]
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.
The film was directed by Mansoor Khan, and written and produced by Nasir Hussain.[10] Akshay Kumar had auditioned[11] and Milind Soman was signed for Shekhar Malhotra's role,[12] 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. 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 Sikander. 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.[13]
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.[16]
Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1978,[4] and the biggest Diwali blockbuster of all time.[5] It was also the third highest-grossing Indian film of the decade, after Sholay and Bobby. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was also an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union.
At the 26th Filmfare Awards, it was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, but did not win in any category.[6] It was remade into the Telugu film Prema Tarangalu (1980),[7] and in Tamil as Amara Kaaviyam (1981).[8] The movie was the last one where Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna appeared together.
The story revolves around a nameless, young orphan boy who finds employment in the house of a wealthy man, Ramnath, played by Shriram Lagoo. Unfortunately, Ramnath harbors an intense dislike for the boy due to a tragic incident involving another orphan who had killed Ramnath's wife. Despite this, Ramnath's young daughter Kaamna empathizes with the boy, and they develop a strong bond of friendship.
Later on, the boy is adopted by a Muslim woman named Fatima, portrayed by Nirupa Roy, who also works for Ramnath. She renames him Sikandar, meaning "Conqueror," and takes on the responsibility of raising him as her own son. However, things take a turn for the worse when Sikandar is accused of trying to rob Ramnath's house while attempting to deliver a birthday gift to Kaamna. Ramnath promptly banishes Sikandar and his mother from his home.
Unfortunately, tragedy strikes again when Fatima dies, leaving the young Sikandar to look after her daughter, Mehroo. In the midst of his grief and despair, Sikandar seeks guidance from a fakir named Darvesh Baba, played by Kader Khan. The wise Darvesh Baba advises Sikandar to find happiness in sadness and embrace the challenges of life. By doing so, he will become the conqueror of fate.
The film cuts to grown up Sikandar (Amitabh Bachchan), revealing he has amassed a fortune by turning in smugglers and thieves to the police and receiving the reward payouts. With all his wealth, he has managed to build an impressive house for himself and Mehroo, along with setting up a profitable business. He still has not forgotten Kaamna (Raakhee). She and her father have fallen on hard times, but they snub all offers from Sikandar to become reacquainted. When Sikandar tries to speak to Kaamna she demands that he never speak to her again. Sikandar is upset by this and becomes a heavy drinker. He also begins to visit Zohra Begum's (Rekha) kotha (brothel) on a regular basis. Zohra falls into an unrequited love with Sikander and begins to refuse other clients.
One night in a bar, Sikandar is introduced to Vishal Anand (Vinod Khanna), a down-on-his-luck lawyer. A friendship is formed when Vishal risks his own life to save Sikandar from a bomb blast. Vishal and his mother move into Sikandar's house.
A criminal named Dilawar (Amjad Khan) is in love with Zohra, and learns about her love for Sikandar. Dilawar confronts Sikandar and in the ensuing fight is thrashed by him. He swears to kill Sikandar.
At length Ramnath and Kaamna, who have been struggling financially, discover that Sikandar has been anonymously paying their bills. Ramnath goes to thank him. The two households become friendly, and Vishal begins to work with Ramnath. Encouraged, Sikandar tries to profess his love to Kaamna through a love letter. Because Sikandar himself is illiterate, Vishal transcribes the letter for him, but the plan backfires when Kaamna mistakes the letter as actually being from Vishal. Vishal is unaware that Kaamna is the girl Sikandar loves, and they begin to date. Sikandar, upon learning this, struggles with his emotions but decides he must sacrifice his love for the sake of his friendship with Vishal. He covers up any evidence of his feelings toward Kaamna, and at his urging, Vishal and Kaamna plan to marry.
Meanwhile, the marriage of Mehroo is at risk of being cancelled; her fianc's family have learned about Sikandar's frequent visits to Zohra, and they object to the union on these grounds. Vishal, knowing Sikandar won't change, visits Zohra and offers to pay her if she agrees to abandon Sikandar. Zohra, upon learning the reason, refuses the money but promises Vishal that she would rather die than let Sikandar visit her again. Later, Sikandar arrives at Zohra's. When she is unable to stop his entry, she kills herself by consuming poison hidden in her diamond ring, and dies in his arms.
Dilawar in the meantime has formed an alliance with Sikandar's arch enemy, J. D. (Ranjeet), and upon learning of Zohra's death hatches a plan to destroy Sikandar and his family. Kaamna and Mehroo are both preparing for their weddings; J. D. and his henchmen kidnap Mehroo but Vishal follows them and rescues her. Dilawar kidnaps Kaamna, but Sikandar follows him. He rescues Kaamna and sends her home while he fights Dilawar. In the final battle, both Dilawar and Sikandar are mortally wounded and Dilawar is surprised to learn that Sikandar never loved Zohra. A dying Sikandar reaches the wedding of Kaamna and Vishal. Just as the wedding ceremony is completed, Sikandar collapses. His dying words inadvertently reveal his love for Kaamna, and Vishal sings him a reprise from the movie's theme song: "Life is going to betray you someday... Death is your true love as it will take you along..." Sikandar's entire life flashes before him and he dies in Vishal's arms just as the song is completed. The film ends with the wedding having become a funeral.
Vocals for Bachchan and Khanna were supplied by Kishore Kumar and Mahendra Kapoor. The album also features Mohammed Rafi, besides Kumar and Kapoor. Rafi's voice was used for the sad version of the title track.
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InJo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar,Saroj Khan was to do the choreography of the iconic song Pehla Nasha. Farah Khanclaimed over the years that she choreographed the song and that Saroj Khan had been sacked by director Mansoor Ali Khan.
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