Pakistani actor Fawad Khan is nervous. Hard to believe, because The Legend of Maula Jatt is no debut for the star of Hamsafar, Kapoor & Sons, Khoobsurat and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
But that was six years ago. He is now bolder, and bigger. Literally. About 100 kgs.
“I’ll be very honest to you; I’ve lied to the rest – I’m just nervous and that’s it. I’m excited as well, but I’m more nervous,” Fawad Khan told me in an interview.
Just days ahead of the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in 2016, the sudden souring of India-Pakistan ties in the wake of the Uri attack made for Fawad Khan’s unceremonious exit from Bollywood, leaving many Indian fans heartbroken.
Today, after a 6-year hiatus and an OTT series with the Ms. Marvel franchise later, Fawad is all set to make his big-screen comeback in and as Maula Jatt, slated for worldwide release on 13 October 2022.
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The weight of a legend
A Punjabi language action drama, The Legend of Maula Jatt is a reboot of the 1979 cult classic Maula Jatt. Directed by Bilal Lashari, the film is a modern retelling of the legendary rivalry between a local hero named Maula Jatt and Noori Nath, a brutal gang lord. With a large ensemble cast that includes the likes of Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mahira Khan and Humaima Malick, it is reportedly the most ambitious and expensive Pakistani film to be made to date.
It’s not just the brand legacy of the blockbuster that is weighing on him.
“All my performances have been different from one another. This, though, is starkly different, because I’ve never carried this much weight,” he laughs.
To embody the persona of Maula, Fawad bulked up from a lean and trim 75 kg to a hefty 100 kg within a short span of a month and a half – an exercise that landed him in hospital for 10 days. “My biggest takeaway is, never transform yourself physically like that again,” he says while sitting at a café in south Karachi.
On the heels of what is slated to be a Lollywood blockbuster and with a Hollywood foray under his belt, Fawad says that his memories of Bollywood and Indian fans have stayed with him all these years.
“I’ve enjoyed a lot of love; I’ve enjoyed a lot of appreciation from fans in India – and they have my love and respect too. Unfortunately, the political situation is such that I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. So, the question should be put to those who can make it happen. I’ve just done a digital series with an Indian platform.” It’s a web series for Zee5 directed by Asim Abbasi called Barzakh. But there are concerns about how audiences in Pakistanis will stream it.
“Whatever happened was unfortunate and can be hard to forget, but then I’ve enjoyed a lot of love and support during that difficult time from India,” he adds.
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A Peter Pan
For the Karachi-born, non-Punjabi conversant actor, his role as Maula Jatt defines his “ability to tackle something outside” his “comfort zone”. He elaborates: “My biggest challenges were learning Punjabi, the action sequences and putting on the weight. This is the first language I’ve spoken on screen apart from Urdu – other than a little bit of English.”
Announced in 2011, the film took over 10 years to make. A lot can and has happened in a decade. But for Fawad, the role stood out—he committed to it without thinking too much, he says.
“I just kind of went in guns blazing. As an actor, every role you do changes you a little bit. As a person, it was a bit of a difficult time, which is a personal space I don’t want to get into. But yeah, it did change me in a lot of ways— a lot of ways I didn’t like, both professionally and personally,” Fawad points out.
For the Pakistani actor, there was a certain coming of age. He realised he had too much time to think, which wasn’t necessarily the best. “Too much thinking does you damage,” he rues.
But is Maula Jatt Fawad Khan’s peak and final form?
“I still haven’t matured, I think it’s going to take me time, I don’t think it’s a really great space to be in because sometimes I think of myself as Peter Pan—I’ve got to grow up someday.”
There are lots of projects ahead too.
“One is Neelofar, which is a home production, the first-ever production for which a few friends and I got together – it’s a simple film. And the one after that is Faisal Qureshi’s Money Back Guarantee,” he says.
The year 2022 has seen Fawad’s professional silence being finally broken. Having begun his career with the sitcom Jutt and Bond, as the new age version of Pakistan’s most famous pop-culture icon, Fawad seems to have come full circle. Pakistan’s very own version of local legend meets Ertuğrul and Game of Thrones, The Legend of Maula Jatt serves to reinvent the maverick Fawad Khan as a superhero. 007 one day—might irony have its way, who knows?
The author is a print and electronic media journalist based in Karachi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Neera Majumdar)