Daily Times

It took 10 years, three regime changes and a whole lot of wait for Bilal Lashari to finally announce the release date of his highly-anticipated film, The Legend of Maula Jatt. The much-awaited project stars Fawad Khan as the titular character Maula Jatt, while Mahira plays Mukko. The remake will also have Hamza Ali Abbasi as Maula Jatt’s arch-rival, Noori Nath.

The film, which was initially announced in 2011, has seen many hurdles along the way. Be it the prolonged legal battle or a pandemic, The Legend of Maula Jatt kept getting delayed for one reason or the other. Now, fans and critics are hopeful that the film will see the light of the day and will release on the newly announced date, October 13 of this year. Soon after the news went viral, Hamza was the top trend on Twitter and many social media users shared their excitement for the upcoming film.

Some celebrities, too, couldn’t believe that Ammarah Hikmat’s production is all set to hit the theatres! Meesha Shafi, Uzair Jaswal and Armeena Khan quipped under Lashari’s announcement post. While The Mauziz Sarif singer couldn’t believe the film is finally set for a release, Uzair and Armeena extended best wishes to the Waar director. There are high hopes attached as well. Touted to be Pakistan’s most expensive film yet, The Legend of Maula Jatt is expected to be a hit at the box office. “Variety has written about The legend of Maula Jatt as well. This one movie has been in the pipeline for a long now. It could possibly change Pakistani cinema’s direction forever. So many hopes are associated with it. Let this be the one that drags us out of slapstick comedies,” a user shared.

‘Not for the faint-hearted’

“The film transcends cultural and linguistic divides. A Sindhi will enjoy it as much as any Punjabi. The content will be very palatable to the new generation that in times to come will extend the immortality of the fictional characters, Maula and Noori,” Lashari told media in 2020.

However, at the same time, he did warn that the film takes certain liberties with violence which may not be digestible for some. “Parents might not find the film suitable for their kids because of the graphic nature of a few scenes so I would strictly advise against bringing children to the cinema. I would advise the faint-hearted and big babies to stay at home,” he said.

“The movie aims to bring a contemporary take to the cult screen characters of Maula Jatt and Noori Nath. Said to be the country’s most expensive production to date, the movie is set to become not only a production marvel in Pakistani cinema but will take the fighting style unique to the east, ” he had previously shared. The Legend of Maula Jatt also stars Faris Shafi, Ali Azmat, Shafqat Cheema and Nayyer Ejaz in important roles.