Fawad Khan's Pakistani film 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' not releasing in Mumbai

A still from the film

In December 2022, shortly after it took Pakistan's movie industry by storm, The Legend of Maula Jatt was scheduled to hit Indian theatres. However, its release was opposed by certain political groups and subsequently cancelled. Two years on, the Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan-led blockbuster is finally arriving in Indian screens on October 2, becoming the first Pakistani film in over 10 years to have a theatrical release in India. Distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla is confident of a strong run, even though the action drama is opening only in the Punjab circuit for now.

Is he disappointed that it's not releasing in Mumbai, the hub of Indian cinema? Not really, says Mandviwalla, hoping that Zee Studios -- which is facilitating the India release -- might have bigger plans ahead. "It was Bollywood which started [the practice of] Pakistani actors not being allowed to work in India. The other film industries, like those in Punjab and south, have no problem. If the picture becomes a success, it should be released in the south. This is our Baahubali, and I feel the south audience will appreciate its scale and vision."

Nadeem Mandviwalla

The Legend of Maula Jatt - a reboot of Pakistan's 1979 hit, Maula Jatt - tells the story of village hero, played by a gandasa-wielding Fawad, who becomes a symbol of resistance against tyranny and injustice in rural Punjab. The distributor points out that anticipation around Bilal Lashari's directorial venture is high in Punjab, as the film's Punjabi roots are expected to resonate strongly with viewers. "There was tremendous excitement when it was to be released in December 2022, but it was [halted]. Now, even as the film is releasing after two years, I feel it will fare very well. There is a wide audience who wanted to see it, and since it's not available on OTT, they haven't been able to," he says.

The action drama, having earned R400 crore globally by 2023, is Pakistan's highest-grossing film to date. But its release in India is so much more than just another avenue to increase its lifetime earnings. Mandviwalla is hopeful that the movie will reignite a cross-cultural exchange between the two neighbouring countries. "Whenever we used to tell the local authorities (he means Pak, no?) that we need our movies to go across the border, they used to highlight that Maulana Jatt's release was stopped. At that time, it wasn't the government who had stopped it; it was local pressure. Whatever is happening politically should not affect art. I'm hopeful that this release will start a better [exchange]. In Pakistan, some Punjabi films do release. We recently released Jatt & Juliet 3, which did tremendous business at my theatre."

Maula is a village folk hero and his tale is one of vengeance - he seeks to avenge the death of his family, which brings him into a deadly rivalry with Noori Natt, a notorious and equally formidable villain. The character's appeal lies in his complexity; he is a man of few words, driven by a desire for justice but not without his own flaws.

The 2022 remake, The Legend of Maula Jatt, reimagines this iconic tale for modern audiences. Directed by Bilal Lashari, the film retains the essence of the original but brings a more polished and grandiose cinematic vision, with Fawad Khan taking on the role of Maula Jatt and Hamza Ali Abbasi as Noori Natt. What makes the film click globally? He says, "I personally feel that it's not the story itself. It was always a big name in Pakistan. But this time what has worked is not the big name or what the film had done 30 years before. This time it's all about how Bilal has made this film. And that became the most surprising part. It is a remake of the film. But he has done it in a way which is exceptional. Nobody could have thought that he would come up with a background and the way he made the film. That has worked tremendously.The star cast - Mahira and Fawad - had a very big contribution towards the success of the film. But ultimately, the biggest thing that happened was that the advance booking of the film when we released it in Pakistan was not up to the mark the way I wanted it to be. But the minute the picture opened up, within the first three days, the kind of report which was coming out, we knew that the second week is going to be much higher than the first week. And that is exactly what happened because the word of mouth was so gigantic. Everybody was shocked to see the film. Nobody could imagine that you can make a film of this sort. It has done about 121 crores in Pakistan. I think it has done 6.5 million dollars."