Ayma Khakwani
The highly anticipated release of a Pakistani hit film, The Legend of Maula Jatt, in India has been postponed after officials denied permission for its screening. The Legend of Maula Jatt, a remake of a 1979 Punjabi film and Pakistan’s highest-grossing film to date, was set to release in India’s Punjab state on Wednesday October 2. This would have been the first Pakistani film showed in Indian cinemas in more than a decade.
Nadeem Mandviwalla, the film’s distributor, said the Press Trust of India (PTI) that an Indian court had granted a stay order blocking the film’s release on the request of a ministry. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India has not provided a clear reason for rejecting permission.
Originally scheduled for release in India in 2022, the film has been put on hold indefinitely. Then, in September, filmmaker Bilal Lashari said that it would be released in Indian theatres soon. “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 labour of love,” he wrote on Instagram.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), an Indian opposition group founded by Raj Thackery, stated last month that it would not allow the film about Fawad and Mahira to be released. Ameya Khopkar, a politician and producer, stated that Pakistani films will not be released in India. “We will not allow the release of Pakistani films, nor will we allow their artists to work in Indian films.”
Ameya Khopkar went on to say, “It is most infuriating that an Indian company is leading this plan. Following Raj Saheb’s orders we will not let this film release anywhere in India.”
The ‘Legend of Maula Jatt’ is a remake of a 1979 Punjabi film and the highest-grossing Pakistani film to date. The film follows a local folk hero who challenges the leader of a rival clan.
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