Maula Jatt

Maula Jatt (Urdu: مَولا جٹ ‎), is a 1979 Pakistani Punjabi language action, musical film directed by Younis Malik and produced by Sarwar Bhatti.[2] The film is an unofficial sequel to the 1975's Wehshi Jatt, starring Sultan Rahi as Maula Jatt and Mustafa Qureshi as his arch-rival Noori Natt,[3][4] two of the most iconic characters in Pakistani cinema.[4]

Maula Jatt
Theatrical release poster
Directed byYunus Malik[1]
Produced bySarwar Bhatti[2]
Written byNasir Adeeb
StarringSultan Rahi
Mustafa Qureshi
Aasia
Kaifee
Adeeb
Ilyas Kashmiri
Music byMaster Inayat Hussain[1]
CinematographyMasud Butt
Production
company
Bahu Films
Distributed bySadaf Video (2002) (DVD)
Release date
  • February 11, 1979 (1979-02-11) (Pakistan)
CountryPakistan
LanguagePunjabi[1]

This movie belongs to a genre which represents the rural culture of Pakistani central Punjab. Its success set the trend of action films being popular in Pakistan and cemented Sultan Rahi as Lollywood's main hero. The film was inspired by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi's short story "Gandasa" which described the culture of Gujranwala's rural areas.[3][4] An unofficial sequel titled Maula Jatt in London, also directed by the Yunus Malik, was released in 1981.

Plot

Following the settlement of Maula Jatt's family feud, Maula has renounced violence and is in charge of administering the peace of his village and its surrounding villages.

The film begins with Maakha Natt chasing a girl. She asks for help but as soon as people hear that she is being pursued by Maakha, the brother of Noori Natt, they ask her to leave and not share her misfortune with them. She arrives in Maula's village and asks for help. Maula's Bhabi Daani calls Maula Jatt. Maula Jatt arrives and advises Maakha. When Maakha disagrees with Maula, his friend Moodha beats up Maakha and leaves a scar after kicking him on the nose. Maula decrees that if Maakha wants to avoid the fate of being killed by his 'Gandasa', he should marry the girl whom he has dishonoured and marry his sister off to her brother. As girl has no family, so Maula orders Maakha to marry his sister to Moodha.

When Makha returns home to plot his revenge, his sister Daaro incensed upon hearing what he has agreed to, kills him. The Natt clan now try to avenge the humiliation that Maula Jatt has caused them while Maula Jatt tries to ensure that his decision is enforced and justice is done.

When Noori Natt gets out of jail, he tells jailor that he has ran out of competition and now he wants a worthy opponent. On jailor's advice he pays a visit to Malik Haku. Haku doesn't tell Noori the name of his old rival and warns him not to get in his way if he ever finds out about him. On returning home, he gets to know the whole incident. Noori starts a quest to find Maula. Noori finally arrives in Maula's village, but instead he gets Moodha. When Moodha tells Noori that it was he who left a scar on his brother's nose, Noori beats him up badly and breaks his leg. Maula returns and finds a brocken legged Moodha, he then swears to take Noori's leg.

Maula and Noori finally face off but police stop them from killing each other. Later on, Maula and Noori get together for a final clash, in which Maula overpowers Noori. Just as he is about to deliver the final blow, Daaro, comes to the rescue and requests Maula to spare Noori and considering that Maula had called her his sister. Maula agrees but Noori amputates his own leg so Maula's revenge is completed. The film ends with Daaro agreeing to marry Moodha and their rivalry resolved forever.

Cast

Film's impact

Film Maula Jatt was commercially a success in the 1980s and celebrated its Diamond Jubilee at the cinemas and the box office. Over the years, the movie has been able to attain cult status.[3] It spawned a number of sequels, becoming the first-ever successful unofficial franchise for a Lollywood title. Maula Jat's success spawned Maula Jat tey Noorie Nut as well as Maula Jat in London and continues to influence popular culture.[5]It was also remade in Hindi as Jeene Nahi Doonga. Productions such as the 2002 play Jatt and Bond use Maula Jatt as their "inspiration". Now Pakistan's highest-grossing film Waar (2013) director Bilal Lashari has said that he is going to make official remake of Maula Jatt (1979).[6][3]

Banning of the movie by the government

It is said that this film was banned because of violence, but later this ban was lifted.[7][5][3]

Soundtracks

The songs were composed by Master Inayat Hussain. These were sung by some very popular singers: Noor Jehan, Mehnaz, Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Alam Lohar, Shaukat Ali and Ghulam Ali.

The soundtrack consisted of the following songs:

Remake
Main article: The Legend of Maula Jatt

In December 2013, Bilal Lashari, the director of highly successful film Waar (2013) announced that he will be directing the remake of Maula Jatt (1979) titled The Legend of Maula Jatt. On the remake he commented, "My version of Maula Jatt will be a visual epic, with less dialogue and many captivating moments. It will be a dark but stylised take on Pakistan’s original film genre."[6] The Legend of Maula Jatt is set to release in 2019.

References
  1. Film Maula Jatt (1979) on Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website Retrieved 9 November 2020
  2. Sher Khan (28 February 2013). "Films like Maula Jatt changed Lollywood forever, says Sarwar Bhatti". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  3. Hari Narayan (8 March 2019). "The mythopoeia of a machete (Maula Jatt is to Pakistan what Sholay is to India)". The Hindu (newspaper). Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  4. (Yousuf Mehmood) 9 Most Iconic Films in the History Of Pakistani cinema Pakistani Cinema website, Published 17 May 2019, Retrieved 9 November 2020
  5. Omar Khan (22 April 2001). "Maula Jat (Director's Cut) (1979)". The Hotspot Online website. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  6. Rafay Mahmood (14 December 2013). "Bilal Lashari's next project: A multi-million dollar remake of Maula Jatt". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  7. "Film Maula Jatt (1979) - film review". Forum Pakistan website. Retrieved 6 June 2019.

Further reading
  • Ayres, Alyssa. 2009. Speaking Like a State. Language and Nationalism in Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 5: The case of Punjab, part II: popular culture, pp. 87–104).
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