Fawad Khan isn’t the only one creating waves as Maula Jatt in Pakistan. Barely days before India and Pakistan face off in the T20 World Cup cricket match on Sunday, a 2017 advertisement has united fans on both sides of the border.
Featuring Pakistani cricketers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar as Maula Jatt and Noori Natt, for the game show ‘Geo Khelo Pakistan’, it has left the internet in awe of their ‘sensational’ performances as actors. Many went so far as to say they make better actors than cricketers.
This is sensational ‼️
Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram deserve awards for these performances 😂pic.twitter.com/eJJ8bR3Usb
— Daoud Nawaz (@DaoudNawaz) October 17, 2022
The promo ad shows Akram and Akhtar squabbling over a motorcycle, arguing in Punjabi over who can stake claim over it. Their acting chops led to a Twitter user, Urooj Azhar, commenting that “their career choice” as cricketers is “questionable”.
Indian fans, too, wade into the debate. A user tweeted that he had a hard time recognising both the cricketers and that sensational didn’t even ‘begin to describe their performance.’
Another user wrote, “Cred style advertising in Pakistan .., phenomenal” while a third said that the two “act even better than they bowl.”
Also read: ‘All mad people came together’ for Pakistan’s The Legend of Maula Jatt—the talk of town
The Maula Jatt fervour: Old vs new
It would be difficult to name a more recognisable figure from Pakistani cinema than Maula Jatt.
An iconic character based on a 1979 Pakistani Punjabi film, Maula Jatt was reprised for the 2022 film by Bilal Lashkari with Fawad Khan playing the titular role. The 1979 film itself was an unofficial sequel to the 1975 film Wehshi Jatt, which made Sultan Rahi as Maula Jatt and Mustafa Qureshi as his rival Noori Natt household names, establishing the genre of action movies as a mainstay in Pakistani cinema.
Several sequels were made, making Maula Jatt the first successful franchise for a Lollywood film. The 1984 Bollywood movie titled Jeene Nahi Doonga, starring Dharmendra and Shatrughan Sinha, is said to be another adaptation of the film.
Ironically, the 2017 ad had faced flak when it had aired initially. Many fans said it was in bad taste.
At the time, a Twitter user had written, “The Ramzaan promo ads featuring Wasim Akram & Shoaib Akhtar on Geo, are more embarrassing than the 1999 world cup final.” Another wrote that the ad was a “meticulous lesson in how to dismantle childhood heroes.”
But the Fawad Khan-starrer big-budget movie, which released earlier this month, has changed that. Contrary to the previous reactions, the video has created quite a buzz online with many users preferring the older ad to the Khan starrer.
A user wrote, “Fawad Khan kaun? Main eh ālī film dekhni aa (Who Fawad Khan? I want to watch this film).”