From its release in India on October 2, 2024, to Raj Thackeray's warning to the makers, here's everything you need to know about Pakistan's highest-grossing film, 'The Legend of Maula Jatt'.
The Legend of Maula Jatt was released in Pakistan on October 13, 2022, and even today, it continues to break new records. The film broke a series of box office records in Lollywood (Pakistani film industry) and is the highest-grossing Pakistani film ever. The film is directed by Bilal Lashari, and its script was written by Nasir Adeeb and Bilal Lashari. The Legend of Maula Jatt features a stellar star cast, including Fawad Khan (Maula Jatt), Hamza Ali Abbasi (Noori Natt), Mahira Khan (Mukhoo Jattni), Humaima Malik (Daaro Nattni), Gohar Rasheed (Maakha Natt), Ali Azmat (Gogi), Babar Ali (Maula's father, Sardar Jatt), and Shafqat Cheema (Jeeva Natt).
It was back in October 2023, when the Supreme Court of India rejected a plea to ban Pakistani-origin artists from working in India. The petitioner named Faaiz Anwar Qureshi was initially slammed by the Bombay High Court, which lifted the ban on the Pakistani artists after seven years. For the uninitiated, it was back in 2016 when Pakistani artists were banned from India after the URI attacks. The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) imposed an unofficial ban on Pakistani artists due to security reasons.
Now that the official ban no longer stands, The Legend of Maula Jatt will be the first Pakistani film since Atif Aslam's Bol to be released in India. Bol was released in August 2011, and after a gap of 13 long years, Indian cinema lovers will witness Pakistan's highest-grossing film, The Legend of Maula Jatt. Since its release in Pakistan back in 2022, The Legend of Maula Jatt has taken the world cinema by storm, courtesy of breaking numerous record at the domestic box office and receiving a lot of applause for its action sequences and storyline.
According to multiple reports, The Legend of Maula Jatt is going to be released in only Punjab. However, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has strongly objected to its release and has warned the cinema owners about the potential consequences. In an interview with ANI, the President of MNS cinema wing, Ameya Khopkar clearly stated that they will not let Pakistani actors come and work in India when our soldiers are dying on the borders for our safety. Not only this, Ameya Khopkar has clearly stated that they'll beat down Pakistani actors, who dare to come to India for work. He said:
"Why do we need Pakistani actors here, don't we have enough talent here? We will beat any Pakistan actor who dares to come to India... Art and politics are different but we don't want the art at the cost of our soldiers... We will not let them come. How can one even think something like this?... We will not let them land their feet, we will break it."
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo, Raj Thackeray warned Maharashtra theatre owners not to release the Pakistani film, The Legend of Maula Jatt. The influential politician took to his X handle and penned a tweet in which he clearly gave a straight warning to cinema owners if they dared to release The Legend of Maula Jatt in their theatres. An excerpt from his note can be read as:
"If theatre owners who are reluctant to screen Marathi films allow Pakistani cinema to enter this land, it will cost them big time. I do not want any conflict in the state during Navratri, and I am sure the government does not want it too."
For the uninitiated, The Legend of Maula Jatt is reportedly a soft reboot and an adaptation of the iconic 1979 film, Maula Jatt. The Lollywood film has inspired the makers to bring it once again in theatres with all the technology and advanced film cameras they have in Lollywood right now. The film is based on the characters and stories penned by Nasir Adeeb and is about a local folk hero, 'Maula Jatt'. The story is about Maula Jatt's fight with his arch-nemesis, 'Noori Natt'.
Back in 2022, while in Pakistan, The Legend of Maula Jatt was their highest-grossing film, in India, it was SS Rajamouli's RRR. However, when both the films clashed at the US and UK box office, it was The Legend of Maula Jatt that got the better of RRR both in the US and UK. However, when we compare the lifetime collection of both movies, while RRR stands at Rs. 1300 crore, The Legend of Maula Jatt has managed to collect Rs 274.7 crore. There's no denying that The Legend of Maula Jatt has created a stir in international cinema, and it will be interesting to see how far Lollywood will go in the coming future.
What do you think about the release of Pakistan's highest-grossing film, The Legend of Maula Jatt, in India? Let us know.
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