New Delhi: Fawad Khan’s 2022 film The Legend of Maula Jatt is set to release in India on 2 October. And the distributor is optimistic that the film will open doors for more Pakistani films to hit theatres in India.
“These are movies that the world should see. It has nothing to do with political agenda. Issues will continue and it is our job to fix it. Steps like these are the way forward,” Karachi-based distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla told ThePrint.
Maula Jatt is also the first Pakistani film to hit Indian screens in over a decade, following a de facto ban on cross-border productions since 2016. The film, directed by Bilal Lashari, is a remake of the 1979 cult classic and was a massive success in Pakistan. And it raked in over PKR 400 crore globally.
Breaking records
Despite political resistance from parties like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), fans on both sides of the border have been sharing excited reactions on social media. The film’s director Bilal Lashari took to Instagram to share his enthusiasm. “I can’t wait for our Punjabi audience in India to experience the magic of this labor of love!” he wrote.
Pakistani lifestyle magazine Fuschia described it as “the film that finally broke the curse after 10 years.” The last Pakistani movie to release in India was the 2011 Atif Aslam-Mahira Khan starrer Bol.
“Maula Jatt is going to open up many things for the future. It will be a memorable milestone in the subcontinent. Because of this film, a lot of things will happen between India and Pakistan. This is just the start,” said Mandviwalla.
Maula Jatt was earlier scheduled to release in India in December 2022 but was stalled amid protests by conservative groups. Since 2019, there has been an unofficial ban on Pakistani films due to the Uri attacks. In November 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking a ban on Pakistani artists. It came after the Bombay High Court too dismissed a petition to ban Pakistani artists in October.
Also read: Fawad Khan’s ‘Humsafar’ to be adapted for Indian stage. Pakistanis say it’ll be ‘ruined’
An appetite for collaboration
Other Pakistani actors have welcomed the move. Director and actor Usman Mukhtar termed the release ‘a great step’. Actor Mamya Shajaffar told ThePrint that “this is wonderful since it also signals more cross-border collaborations which is good for both the countries culturally’.
“The digital age has transformed the entertainment landscape, giving South Asians access to a wide variety of content beyond just Mumbai and Karachi stories. Stories like Maula Jatt offer a fantastic opportunity to showcase diverse narratives from Pakistan, moving beyond the typical saas-bahu [mother-in-law, daughter-in-law] dramas”, director Danial Afzal said.
Maula Jatt is only being released in India’s Punjab. Mandvivalla emphasised the film’s Punjabi roots to explain its limited initial release. While the film has been subtitled in Urdu to cater to a wider audience, the decision not to dub it in other languages reflects a strategic focus on the Punjabi-speaking demographic. What adds to the craze is that the movie is not available to watch online.
‘We’ve been importing a lot of Indian Punjabi films and are familiar with the differences between them and what’s produced here. Such films [Maula Jatt] are rare in our industry as well. When you watch it on the big screen, you’ll realise that some movies are meant for cinema; they simply don’t translate the same way on TV. Pakistan was shocked, India will be too’, Mandvivalla added.
Before Maula Jatt, distributors tested the waters with the Fawad Khan-starrer Barzakh, which was released digitally in India this June. Musical collaborations are also underway with Indian artist Ritviz and Pakistan’s Hasan Raheem coming together for a song.
Also read: Fawad Khan returns to Indian screens after 8 years. Pakistanis declare ‘King is back’
A one-sided affair
Kamran Jawaid, a senior film critic with Dawn, views these developments with cautious optimism.
“Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I don’t count Barzakh or The Legend of Maula Jatt as collaborations. The country’s serials are still very popular with Indian audiences on YouTube as per the metrics, so Zee’s productions give Pakistani actors and filmmakers a way to branch out from the limitations of local networks by telling stories with narrative approaches that would not work here.”
Pakistani shows are also cheaper to make. So these collaborations, Jawaid said, are more cost-effective. “It fills streaming services’ libraries, and gives Indian audiences their dose of Pakistani products.”
While he said that it’s a smart way of working, he insisted that the Pakistanis are only getting crumbs.
“These—and the side roles that actors from Pakistan’s Punjab get in Indian-Punjabi productions—are small endeavours, when so much more could be done. Artists are artists; they will find means to collaborate. For example, an upcoming track by Honey Singh and Mehwish Hayat, or Imran Abbas and Simi Chahal’s film Jee Ve Sohneya Jee.”
Maula Jatt could turn the tide. Jawaid said the reason is simple: The story of the film doesn’t have anything to do with Pakistan. It is set in a fictional world and no country is named. Secondly, it’s already a cult favourite and has minted money in global box offices.
“Pakistan does not have an anti-India campaign running anywhere. Government and the people welcome the showcase of Indian films,” he said.
Indian films returned to the screens in 2008, after a gap of over four decades. Even late night weekday shows of Akshay Kumar’s films were playing to packed halls, Jawaid said. They were banned again in 2019.
“Unfortunately, the situation between Pakistan and India worsened. We would welcome Indian movies again, however, there is a problem: Indian associations do not allow the export of films to Pakistan,” he added.
Jawaid calls the film trade a one-sided affair.
“Indian films were given clearance to screen in Pakistan for years, but how many Pakistani films have made it to Indian screens? Two in the past decade? The last release was Bol, and now The Legend of Maula Jatt…if it gets released. Two films in a decade are hardly fair.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Pakistani films and music must not be allowed to do business in India. What do we gain from this arrangement? Nothing at all.
Pakistan is the only beneficiary in case of trade between the two nations. And it is quite plausible that a part of the profits made out of this trade are pumped into the business of Jihad. The Jamaat ud Dawa and other such organisations receive substantial monetary aid from the Pakistani traders and businessmen.
Money made from trade with India is utilised to produce jihadi terrorists in larger numbers.