The India release of the Pakistani film The Legend of Maula Jatt, starring Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, generated a lot of excitement among their fans. However, the film will not be released in Mumbai, the hub of Hindi cinema, leaving fans disappointed.  

This decision came after Maharashtra politician Raj Thackeray warned against its release in the state's capital. The movie's India release has faced controversy, and there are discussions about its theatrical release date. 

The 2022 Pakistani film, set to release in India on October 2 this year, is once again facing strong opposition from politicians in India. A glimpse at the necessary details related to the Fawad-Mahira starrer's India release.

Distributor compares Pak film to Baahubali

Speaking about The Legend of Maula Jatt being released in the Punjab circuit and not in Mumbai, the film's distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla, in an interview with Mid-Day said, “It was Bollywood which started (the practice of) Pakistani actors not being allowed to work in India. The other film industries, like those in Punjab and south, have no problem. If the picture becomes a success, it should be released in the south. This is our Baahubali, and I feel the south audience will appreciate its scale and vision.”

He further said, “Whenever we used to tell the local authorities (he means Pak, no?) that we need our movies to go across the border, they used to highlight that Maulana Jatt’s release was stopped. At that time, it wasn’t the government who had stopped it; it was local pressure. Whatever is happening politically should not affect art. I’m hopeful that this release will start a better [exchange]. In Pakistan, some Punjabi films do release. We recently released Jatt & Juliet 3, which did tremendous business at my theatre.”

Fawad's film 1st Pakistani movie releasing in India

The Legend of Maula Jatt will be the first Pakistani film releasing in India after 10 years. There has been a ban on Pakistani artists ever since the Uri terror attack in 2016. In November 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking a complete ban on artists from Pakistan to perform or work in India.

Raj Thackeray's warning against film's release

Raj Thackeray recently warned against The Legend of Maula Jatt's release in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader in his tweet wrote, “Pakistani actor Fawad Khan's movie titled, 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' is going to be released in India soon. The MNS will not allow the movie to be released in Maharashtra under any circumstances. Why are films of Pakistani actors allowed to be released in India? And art has no borders, which is fine in other cases, but in the case of Pakistani actors, this will not work at all. Governments should not allow this film to be released in any state of the country, not just Maharashtra.” The politician cautioned against releasing the film during Navratri to avoid any conflicts.

About The Legend of Maula Jatt

The Legend of Maula Jatt is an adaptation and a soft reboot of the 1979 Lollywood film Maula Jatt. It is based on the characters and stories by Nasir Adeeb. The story depicts a local folk hero named Maula Jatt played by Fawad takes on his arch nemesis and the leader of a brutal clan, Noori Natt, portrayed by Hamza Ali Abbasi. Apart from Mahira, the movie also features Humaima Malik, Faris Shafi and others in pivotal characters. The film is directed by Bilal Lashari.

Mahira, Fawad excited about their film's India release

The Legend of Maula Jatt director Bilal took to his Instagram handle and announced the movie's India release. While confirming the news, Bilal captioned his Instagram post as, “Releasing in India, Punjab on Wednesday 2nd Oct! Two years in, and still house full on weekends in Pakistan! Now, I can’t wait for our Punjabi audience in India to experience the magic of this labor of love!” Mahira reshared the post and wrote, “Let's go.” Fawad simply reposted the post.

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