The Legend of Maula Jatt is an upcoming Pakistani Punjabi-language action drama directed and written by Bilal Lashari and co-written by Amara Hikmat and Dr. Asad Jameel Khan will be produced under the production banner of Encyclomedia. It is a remake of the 1979 cult classic Maula Jatt. It stars Fawad Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mahira Khan and Humaima Malik.
This film is touted as the most expensive Pakistani film to date. Picking up and retelling the legendary rivalry, a local hero named Maula Jat (Khan) confronts brutal gang leader Noori Nath (Abassi). On 14 December 2013, in an interview with The Express Tribune, Bilal Lashari announced that he would direct Maula Jutt, saying: "It will be my opinion that the film Gandasa will be blamed for the death of Lollywood. I think the Gandasa genre is a missed opportunity. for Pakistani cinema and what better way to make use of it than paying homage to the cult classic Maula Jat.” To play the role, Hamza Ali Abbasi began training in muscle symmetry, proportion, endurance, and cardiovascular health.
On April 4, 2014, Lashari announced that he had just finished the script for the film and was looking for a female lead. He said, "Waar was appreciated for its stylistic elements but criticized for its script, which is why I wanted to devote more time to Maula Jutt's script." On 27 May 2014, the cast was selected and filming began, revealing that the film would be in three languages; English, Urdu and Punjabi.
The cast of this film was announced personally by Hamzah Ali Abbasi. At the suggestion of Bilal Lashari, Adnan Jafar and Shamoon Abbasi were removed from the cast on 16 November 2016 after Asad Jameel Khan and Amara Hikmat took over the project. In March 2015, Lashari announced that he would start shooting the film initially from Lahore. He revealed that unlike the first part, the story of the film will be entirely new, but the dialogue is taken from the 1979 film. On 8 January 2016, it was announced that Fawad Khan would be playing the role of Maula Jutt alongside Noori Nath. played by Hamza Ali Abbasi. This film was shot with the Red Epic W camera.
The film's trailer was released on December 21, 2018 to a positive response, with a release date of Eid 2019. However, due to a copyright lawsuit by the producers of the 1979 film, the release was postponed. An agreement was reached between the two countries in February 2020, according to which the film was scheduled for simultaneous release in Pakistan and China on Eid 2020, but was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In July 2022, the film was rumored to be released on September 30, 2022. After many delays, it was officially announced that the film would be released on October 13, 2022. The theatrical trailer was officially released on YouTube on August 14, 2022. In 2017, Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti, producer of the 1979 film Maula Jat, filed a case at the Intellectual Property Organization Court of Pakistan seeking a court order against the exhibition The Legend of Maula Jat. In 2019, he filed multiple motions to stay in the Lahore High Court to bar new film producers from using material that could infringe on his intellectual property.
In response to these allegations, producer Amara Hikmat said that "Sarwar Bhatti's malicious accusations are false and frivolous" and hinted that he would take the matter to court because Naseer Adib, the screenwriter of the 1979 film, officially owns the rights to his characters - including Maula Jat and Noori. Nath (among others) - for directors Bilal Lashari and Hikmat.
On February 9, 2020, after a protracted legal battle, an agreement was reached between the two parties. Bhatti has been credited as the owner of the film's exclusive copyright and trademark since 1979. However, he gave permission to the new filmmaker to use the content of the original work and agreed to drop all other court cases regarding its release. This agreement is limited to the production, release, promotion and distribution of The Legend of Maula Jat and does not apply to future films that may infringe on the old film rights owned by Bahoo Films. Similarly, Bahoo Films is required to make a statement before the Lahore Intellectual Property Court stating that the matter has been resolved and Encylomedia Public Relations Officer Amara Hikmat has been granted permission to use Maula Jat's content in future films.
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