We have been listening intently to the news that the remake of the 1979’s action film, “Maula Jatt” is underway and its been several times that we’ve exclaimed annoyingly “Oh release it already!”. Seems like we’ve gotta wait some more, cause the release date is all set for Eid-ul-FItr of the coming year.
A talk about Maula Jatt immediately brings to our mind an image of Sultan Rahi, impersonating a Punjabi hero, with an enviable body (look at it from 1979’s standards) and that iconic gandasa in hand!
This film back in the 1970s was a big hit. It ran in the cinemas for nearly TWO Years! To bhai logo, Lollywood ko easy nai lena! It not only racked a huge profit for its makers, but also managed to keep the disintegrating Pakistani industry afloat for another 10 years or so!
Inspired by Sultan Rahi and Mustafa Qureshi’s impeccable performance, Bilal Lashari the Waar director announced a remake of the film. The film is to be produced and directed by Bilal himself, while the new script, editing and dialogues have all been done by Nasir Adeeb, the writer for the original Maula Jatt.
For the purpose, he set together a team comprising of Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi as the lead roles, playing the iconic roles of Maula Jatt and “Noori Jatt”. On the other hand, Mahira Khan and Humaima Malick are all set for their female lead roles as “Mukho Jatti” and “Daro Natti”.
While we find the actors all set and ready for their shooting, a controversy found its way. But before we talk about it, lets talk about Fawad Khan and his stunning transformation. I mean, not that he looked any less handsome before, but lets admit it, the extra wight suits him!
Well well, back to the controversy. To phir hwa kuch youn, the director and producer of the original Maula Jatt, Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti, reportedly sued Bilal Lashari for violating copyrights. This is what he said:
“This is blatant violation of the copyright law,” Bhatti claimed
“It is my legacy, my pride. I will do everything to punish him,” Bhatti added, saying the producer has the complete ownership of copyrights.
In their defense, this is what the team for the remake had to say:
“It’s a gamble but it’s not a remake… It’s a new interpretation of the gandasa genre, which is why it was very important to reinvent characters. There’s no point in imitating Sultan Rahi. There has to be a completely new identity.”
However ladies and gentlemen, finally the controversies have settled down now that the new name for the movie has been announced. Oh yeah! The movie is now going to be named as “The legend of Maula Jatt”, and nope, its no more a simple remake of the original movie. Its going to be something more original and we are so excited for it!
