“Jo jeeta wo sikandar”
Mansoor Khan, the director of the this path breaking Hindi film divulges that a lack of expression, something between a question mark and an exclamation mark, in the title of this film led to a misunderstanding of the title and eventually the meaning of the film.
Does the winner take it all? Is success so important for life to be purposeful? Who prescribes the posts and pillars of success? Does one have to be successful in the eyes of the society, eventually it’s the others who would set up benchmarks for you?
Mansoor, acknowledges, that this film was his story. He did not prescribe to the milestones setup by the society, he did not belong to the film industry, preferred sailing instead! In the eyes of the world, he failed at sailing and was a “sikandar” at films!
Some eight years back, Mansoor, along with his wonderful wife Tina and their two children moved out bag and baggage from the tinsel town and settled in a 30 acre farm at connoor, near Ooty.
It’s a rare thing, who has the heart to walk out of such a life, into such a life, though many would, just might fancy in some of those moments.
It was ironical, here! There was me, doing this farming business hardly out of choice, not that I dislike what I do, but guess, it’s an ideal situation to succeed in the eyes of the society, like Mansoor, and then follow your heart.
Mansoor and Tina, manage, “the wild acres” in the foothills of Nilgiris, not so picturesque, but surely quiet and serene. Lovely weather, warm staff like family, amazing food, no TV, no cacophony, just bliss.
Clouds swiftly make into your window, varieties of wild flowers and many a species of birds, bison grazing in the foyer, boars crossing streets, monkeys at the dining area and elephants uprooting his fig trees. That’s just quaint as it gets.
Mansoor, shares his failures here more gladly. The farm has been making losses, like all farmers of this country; he is redoing his calculations and strategies every now and then.
Cow shed is an expensive exercise; bison’s and elephants do not let vegetables grow, government licenses are hard to get, manpower is unavailable and expensive, market is low and far.
Welcome to my world.
