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The Legend of Maula Jatt

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This article is about the 2022 film. For the 1979 film, see Maula Jatt.

The Legend of Maula Jatt
Official poster
Directed byBilal Lashari
Written byNasir Adeeb
Bilal Lashari
Based onCharacters
by Nasir Adeeb[1]
Produced byAmmara Hikmat
Asad Jamil Khan
Starring
CinematographyBilal Lashari
Edited byBilal Lashari
Music bySarmad Ghafoor
Production
companies
Encyclomedia
Lashari Films
Distributed byAAA Motion Pictures
Geo Films
Mandiwala Entertainment
Release date
  • 13 October 2022 (2022-10-13)
Running time
153 minutes
CountryPakistan
LanguagePunjabi
Box officeRs. 401 crore (US$14 million)[2]

The Legend of Maula Jatt is a 2022 Pakistani Punjabi-language action drama film directed by Bilal Lashari and written by Nasir Adeeb. The film is an adaptation and a soft reboot of the 1979 Lollywood film Maula Jatt.[3] It is produced by Ammara Hikmat and Asad Jamil Khan under the production banner of Lashari Films and Encyclomedia.[4][5] It is based on the characters and stories by Nasir Adeeb. The film stars Fawad Khan as the titular character with Hamza Ali Abbasi, Humaima Malik, Faris Shafi and Mahira Khan.[6] In the film, a local folk hero named Maula Jatt takes on his arch nemesis and the leader of a brutal clan, Noori Natt.[7]

Development of a Maula Jatt remake was announced in December 2013 by director Bilal Lashari who completed a script treatment for the film a year later.[8][9] Asad Jamil Khan and Ammara Hikmat came on board as producers in November 2016, with Hamza Ali Abbasi and Fawad Khan signing on as lead actors. Principal photography began in January 2017 and concluded in June 2019. The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release during multiple dates in 2019–2020, but kept getting delayed due to copyright-related issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] The film has been described as the most expensive film of Pakistan to date. The film is distributed by AAA Motion Pictures, Geo Films and Mandiwala Entertainment. The film music score is composed by Sarmad Ghafoor.[11]

The Legend of Maula Jatt premiered at Cue Cinemas in Lahore on October 12, 2022 and was released theatrically on October 13, 2022.[12][13][14] The film received positive reviews from critics for its direction, performances, action sequences, and visual effects.[15][16] The film grossed $13.8 million worldwide,[7] breaking numerous box-office records, and became the highest-grossing Pakistani film of all time, as well as the highest-grossing Punjabi-language film of all time.[7]

Plot

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The film opens with the clan of Jeeva Natt, launching an attack on the Haveli of Sardar Jatt. They overpower and kill Jatt and his wife. Maula, Jatt's son and the sole survivor of the attack, is raised by a woman named Daani. One day Dani's biological son Mooda takes Maula to his wrestling coach. The coach is impressed by Maula and agrees to teach him.

Maula grows up to become a famous wrestler, but at night he struggles with violent dreams of his past. He has no clear memory of his family.

Maakha Natt, one of the sons of Jeeva, terrorizes the village of Maula by kidnapping a girl from his village and raping her in his haveli. Jeeva, due to his old age, decides that he will declare someone else as the leader of his clan; however, Daaro Natt, Jeeva's daughter, declares that only Noori Natt, the elder son of Jeeva who is in prison because of his obsession with murder, will become the ruler of the clan.

Before a fight, Maula is approached by an old man who tells him that he has the answer to Maula’s every question. He also tells Maula to meet him in the ruins of Sardar Jatt’s haveli. That night, Maula is heavily intoxicated and loses a fight for the first time in his life, but is saved by Mooda who is badly injured in the process. The next day, Maula arrives at the ruins of Sardar Jatt’s haveli, where the old man, who was waiting for him to arrive, reveals to him that he is the son of Sardar Jatt. The old man then hands him the 'Gandasa' of his father. Maula arrives back to his village, only to find men of the Natt clan terrorising the village once again. Maula, in rage, kills all the men. When Maakha comes to Maula’s village to investigate the killing of his men, he is humiliated and defeated by Maula.

When Maakha returns home to plot his revenge, his sister Daaro is incensed upon hearing what he has to tell her. She berates him and moves to kill him; but before she can do so, Maakha jumps off a ledge, taking his own life. The Natt clan now try to avenge the humiliation that Maula Jatt has caused them. Meanwhile, Maula tries to convince the villagers to stand up against the cruelty they face, whilst the villagers insist that he has brought death upon them all in the form of the wrath of the Natt clan.

When Noori Natt, immensely skilled in combat, gets out of jail, he tells the jailor that he has run out of competition and now wants a worthy opponent. He is soon made aware of Maula, who has become well-known for his fighting capabilities.

Upon everyone’s request, Maula agrees to apologise to the Natt clan for the safety of the villagers. However, as soon as he leaves the village, Noori arrives in search of Maula. When confronted by Noori, Moodha, who is unaware of Noori's identity tells him that it was he who humilated his brother. Noori upon hearing this, easily bests Moodha in combat and despite pleas from Moodha's mother, kills him. Maula returns and finds Moodha dead. He then swears to kill Noori. Maula arrives at Natt’s haveli to challenge him in combat, but is ambushed and captured by Jeeva Natt. Noori accuses his father of taking away his competition and kills him. Noori then declares Daaro as the leader of the clan, but she is betrayed and killed by her own clan who then frame Maula for killing her.. When Noori finds out about the death of his sister, he burns down Maula’s village and captures everyone. Maula arrives at the village and fights Noori. At the end Noori is killed and Maula is declared the hero of the village.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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On 14 December 2013 in an interview with The Express Tribune, Bilal Lashari announced that he will be directing Maula Jatt and said: "This will be my take on gandasa films which are blamed for the death of Lollywood. I think the gandasa genre was a missed opportunity for Pakistani cinema and what better choice to utilize it then by paying homage to the cult classic Maula Jatt."[8][9] To mold himself in the role, Hamza Ali Abbasi started training to work on muscle symmetry, proportion, endurance and cardiovascular health.[19] According to the producers, the film is neither a remake nor a sequel of the original Maula Jatt, but rather an adaptation.[3]

On 4 April 2014, Lashari announced that he had just finished the script of film and looking up for lead cast. He said, "Waar was appreciated for its stylistic elements, but was criticized for its script, which is why I want to spend more time on Maula Jatt's script." On 27 May 2014, the cast was chosen and the shooting of film was started revealing that film will be in three languages; English, Urdu and Punjabi.[citation needed]

Casting and filming

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The film cast was revealed individually by Hamza Ali Abbasi. On advice of Bilal Lashari, on 16 November 2016, Adnan Jaffar and Shamoon Abbasi were removed from these cast after Asad Jamil Khan and Ammara Hikmat took over the project. In March 2015, Lashari announced that he is about to start the film shooting initially from Lahore. He revealed that film's story will be all new unlike the first part, but dialogues will be taken from 1979 film. On 8 January 2016, it was revealed that Fawad Khan will play the role of Maula Jatt opposite to Noori Nath played by Hamza Ali Abbasi.[20] The film is shot with the Red Epic W camera.[citation needed]

Release

[edit]

A trailer for the film was released on 21 December 2018 to a positive reaction[21] with a release date of Eid ul-Fitr 2019.[22] However, due to a copyright lawsuit filed by the producer of the 1979 movie, the release was postponed. A settlement was reached between the two parties in February 2020,[23] after which the film was scheduled to be released in Pakistan and China simultaneously on Eid Al Fitr 2020,[24] but was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25][26]

In July 2022, it was rumored that the film would be released on 30 September 2022. After multiple delays, it was officially announced that the film would be released on October 13, 2022.[27] The film was released in 500 screens worldwide.[7]

The film was supposed to be released in India in 2022 but it was delayed indefinitely. The film was planned to have a limited release in Punjab, India on October 2, 2024 but Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied Zee Studios, the film's distributor in India, permission to release the film. It would have made it the first Pakistani film to be screened in India in more than a decade.[28]

Reception

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Box office

[edit]

As of 13 December 2022, The Legend of Maula Jatt made in budget of approx. PKR 45 crores has grossed Rs. 115.02 crore (US$4.0 million) in Pakistan, and Rs. 160.8 crore (US$5.6 million) in other territories, for a worldwide total of Rs. 274.7 crore (US$9.5 million),[29] breaking numerous box-office records including becoming the highest-grossing Pakistani film of all time (surpassing Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 (2018) entire theatrical run, as well as the biggest-highest-grossing film of all time in Pakistan, highest-grossing Punjabi-language film of all time, top South Asian film in the UK from 2018 to 2022. and the only Pakistani film to surpass the threshold of 100 crore, 150 crore and 200 crore worldwide, that is also within a month. and then the 250 crore later.[29][7]

The film had a worldwide opening of Rs. 51.00 crore (US$2.3 million), the biggest Pakistan-film opening of all time and nearly double Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2's previous record of 25.02 crore.[11] It is also the fastest Pakistan film ever to eclipse the 20 crore, 30 crore, 40 crore and 50 crore mark, in just three to four days weekend.[11]

Pakistan

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The Legend of Maula Jatt earned 11.30 crore in its opening weekend, surpassing Sultan and JPNA 2 to become the second biggest opening weekend of all time in Pakistan only behind Avengers: Endgame (14.50 crore), and the biggest opening weekend of 2022 in Pakistan (surpassing London Nahi Jaunga and Doctor Strange 2).[30] The film opened on Friday and grossed 4.5 crore (including 1.75 crore from Thursday night previews) the highest ever opening day in Pakistan. It then collected 3.45 crore on Saturday and 3.35 crore on Sunday the highest grossed Saturday and Sunday ever.[31]

Other territories

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Internationally, the film made record $355K from United Kingdom, the highest opening weekend for any Pakistani or Punjabi film kicking off at No.9 of the box office charts. The film largest overseas opening in UAE where it reached No. 1 with over $515,000.[32] In the US and Canada, the film grossed $290K and $235K respectively, and in Australia it grossed $160,000. In both Canada and Australia, the film opened at No. 6 on the box office charts. Other releasing markets included Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and South East Asia where it collectively grossed $250,000 in the opening weekend. Overall, the film debuted to $1.7 million (40 crore) on the overseas opening weekend, the highest for a Pakistani film.[11] By its 5th weekend, the film had grossed £1.3 million at the UK box office.[33]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[34] Cath Clarke of The Guardian called the film "Game of Thrones meets Gladiator" and gave it 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "The movie ends, unsurprisingly, with a big fight between Maula and Noori – a fight in which Maula pauses to twiddle his fine moustache. Like I said, old school; still, I enjoyed every minute."[15] Writing for The Express Tribune, Rafay Mahmood And Zeeshan Ahmad rated the film 4 out of 5 stars saying, "While the film borrows nothing but the characters and bits of plot from the original, the themes it quite bravely endorses in this day and age call for a broader study of a shared sense of masculinity and rethinking of the box office prospects of South Indian cinema in Pakistan, in a better political climate of course."[16] Eleen Bukhari of Geo News wrote, "A lot of ups and downs, delays and legal setbacks later, TLoMJ has lived up to, if not surpassed expectations. It is an initiative never seen in Pakistan before. It is truly a labour of love."[35]

Conversely, Carla Hay of Culture Mix gave a negative review, writing, "The problem is that 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' filmmakers didn’t care enough about casting skilled actors who can say dialogue in a talented and believable way. The acting in 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' is absolutely cringeworthy—either too flat or too exaggerated. Worst of all, there’s no suspense or any real surprises in this long-winded action film, because everything in the movie plays out like a formulaic 'heroes versus villains' video game that is a lazy imitation of better ones that came before it.″[36]

Mahira Khan's performance was less well received. Syed Zain Raza, writing for The Friday Times stated, "One can’t deny the star power of Mahira, but it would be better to say that this wasn’t her film. Mukkho wasn’t meant for her. The contrast is even clearer when one compares her to Humaima who was flawless in this film."[37] Marsha Tayyab, sub editor of Dawn Images wrote, "One thing that did put me off was Mahira Khan’s Mukkho. The supporting character to Maula was rather bland and to top it all off, Mahira’s Punjabi didn’t cut it for me. I would’ve liked to see Mehwish Hayat as Maula’s love interest instead, as Ms. Marvel gave us a glimpse of Hayat and Fawad’s sizzling chemistry." while Siham Basir, the Managing editor of Dawn Images wrote, "The only downside for me was Mahira Khan’s Mukkho. Her Punjabi accent needed a lot of work and while I understand the need for star power and the casting of non-Punjabis for the film, it took years for the movie to be completed. She could have used those years to work on her accent and delivery because her performance fell flat.[38]

Lawsuit

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In 2017, Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti, the producer of the 1979 film Maula Jatt, filed a suit before the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan tribunal seeking an injunctive order against the exhibition of The Legend of Maula Jatt. In 2019, he also submitted multiple applications for a stay order in Lahore High Court to prohibit the producer and director of the new movie from using material which may violate his intellectual property.

Responding to these claims, producer Ammara Hikmat said, "the malicious claims made by Sarwar Bhatti are false and frivolous" and hinted at taking the matter to court since Nasir Adeeb, the writer of the 1979 film, had officially handed over the rights of his characters – including Maula Jatt and Noori Natt (among others) – to director Bilal Lashari and Hikmat.[39]

On 9 February 2020, after a lengthy legal battle,[40][41][42][43] a settlement was reached between the two parties. Bhatti was recognized as the exclusive copyright and trademark owner of the 1979 movie. However, he gave permission to the filmmakers of the new movie to use the content from his original work and agree to withdraw all other court petitions regarding its release. This agreement was confined to the production, release, promotion, and distribution of The Legend of Maula Jatt and did not apply to any future movies that may violate the rights of the old movie, which were retained by Bahoo Films. Similarly, Bahoo Films would have to record a statement before the Intellectual Property Tribunal, Lahore, declaring that the matter had been resolved and that Ammara Hikmat's Encylomedia PR was allowed to use the content of Maula Jatt for the upcoming movie.[44]

Sequel

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The producers announced that a sequel titled The Legend Of Maula Jatt: Chapter II is in development.[45]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Maula Jatt writer Nasir Adeeb speaks about the remake". The News International. August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  2. ^ "'The Legend of Maula Jatt' crosses Rs400 crore worldwide". The Express Tribune. 12 August 2023. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Baig, Iqra Mujahid (13 October 2022). "Producer says TLoMJ is not remake or sequel". Samaa TV. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Rightful battle?: Bilal Lashari's Maula Jatt ready to roll". The Express Tribune. Hassan Ansari. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
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  9. ^ a b "Maula Jatt remake". Play Max. Usman Farooq. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  10. ^ Jawaid, Mohammad Kamran (6 October 2022). "The eventual success of The Legend of Maula Jatt may be a story on its own". Images. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d Tartaglione, Nancy (18 October 2022). "'The Legend Of Maula Jatt': Pakistani Epic Sets Global Opening Weekend Record". Deadline. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  12. ^ "The Legend of Maula Jatt gets a release date". Something haute. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  13. ^ The Legend of Maula Jatt premiere with Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan & other Celebrities in Lahore, archived from the original on 1 November 2022, retrieved 22 October 2022
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  15. ^ a b "The Legend of Maula Jatt review – Pakistani classic remake is Game of Thrones meets Gladiator". the Guardian. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  16. ^ a b "'TLoMJ' review: Pakistani cinema's grandest offering yet". The Express Tribune. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
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  18. ^ Zehra, Syeda (15 October 2022). "Haute Review: The Legend of Maula Jatt is a spectacle you wouldn't want to miss!". Something Haute. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2022. The Punjabi film revolves around the life of Maula Jatt (Fawad Khan), an orphan raised by Daani (Raheela Agha) along with her son Mooda (Faris Shafi).
  19. ^ "No pain, no gain: creating our own Arnolds!". The Express Tribune. Humay Waseem. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Fawad Khan cast as Maula Jatt, Hamza Ali Abbasi as Noori Nath". The Express Tribune. Rafay Mahmood. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  21. ^ Images Staff (22 December 2018). "India reacts with all praise to The Legend of Maula Jatt trailer". Images. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  22. ^ Images Staff (21 December 2018). "The trailer for The Legend of Maula Jatt is finally here and we're shook". Images. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  23. ^ "The Legend of Maula Jatt gets green signal for release as legal cases withdrawn". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  24. ^ 0 "The Legend of Maula Jatt is all set to release on Eid". 23 February 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
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  30. ^ NewsDesk (19 October 2022). "The Record-Breaking Collection of the Legend of Maula Jatt". Daily The Patriot. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  31. ^ "The Legend of Maula Jatt roars at box office". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
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  33. ^ Images Staff (15 November 2022). "Maula Jatt is the highest grossing film from the Indian subcontinent at UK box office in 4 years: report". DAWN. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  34. ^ "The Legend of Maula Jatt". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  35. ^ "Review: 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' has got us saying 'Nava aya ae sohneya'". geotv. 15 October 2022. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
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  37. ^ Raza, Syed Zain (18 October 2022). "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of The Legend Of Maula Jatt". Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  38. ^ Staff, Images (18 October 2022). "Review: What team Dawn.com thought of The Legend of Maula Jatt". Images. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  39. ^ NewsBytes. "Maula Jatt producer, Ammara Hikmat, responds to Sarwar Bhatti's claims". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  40. ^ Images Staff (11 May 2019). "Sindh High Court has issued a stay order against the original Maula Jatt producer". Images. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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  44. ^ Bilal, Images Staff | Rana (10 February 2020). "Legend of Maula Jatt producers reach settlement with original filmmakers". Images. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  45. ^ NewsBytes. "Maula Jatt producer, Ammara Hikmat, announced Maula Jatt 2 is in development". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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