India release of Fawad Khan-starrer Pak film ‘Legend of Maula Jatt’ put on hold
Film’s distributor claims an Indian ministry has got a stay order on its release, which in turn has halted its pilot screening in India’s Punjab
The release of Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan-starrer Pakistani blockbuster, The Legend of Maula Jatt, in India has been put on hold due to legal challenges, film’s distributor has told the media.
The Legend of Maula Jatt, the remake of a 1979 Punjabi film and the highest grossing film in Pakistan, was slated to release in Punjab on Wednesday (October 2). It would have been the first Pakistani film to be screened in India after more than a decade.
Stay order on film
On Tuesday The film’s distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla told PTI that an Indian ministry has obtained a stay order from a court against the release of the film so the screening is now stalled.
He said that though he held the exclusive distribution rights of the film in Pakistan, he knew that the company holding the international rights with Zee India had collaborated to make the release of the film possible in India’s Punjab.
“Unfortunately its release has once again been stalled and there is nothing anyone can do until the court gives its decision,” Mandviwalla said.
‘If released in India, film will be big step for Pak industry’
Mandviwalla, one of the top distributors, exhibitors and cinema owners in Pakistan, said that whenever the film’s release is possible in India, it will be a big step forward for the Pakistani industry.
“I am pretty sure given the quality and efforts put into the making of the film and its brilliant cast, Maula Jatt will be a big hit in Indian Punjab,” he added.
Resistance in India
Since it was announced that the film is set to be released in India’s Punjab, there has been a lot of resistance from some parties and politicians and others and Mandiwalla felt it was because of this that the concerned authorities had gone to court.
On September 18, film's director Bilal Lashari announced the movie will be released in the Indian state of Punjab by Zee Studios in collaboration with Zindagi, which also brought Fawad back to audiences in India with its latest show Barzakh.
Strained Indo-Pak ties
India banned the export of Indian films to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident in 2019 and the Pakistan government in a tit-for-tat response also banned screening of Indian films in the country.
The last Pakistani film to release in India was 2011’s Bol starring Humaima Malick and Atif Aslam.
The ban has hurt the Pakistani film industry badly as the distributors and owners of multiplexes and single-screen cinemas relied heavily on Bollywood movies before the ban with several Indian movies raking in millions for the industry after doing good business in Pakistan.
When released two years back The Legend of Maula Jatt, starring Fawad and Mahira, did record business for a Pakistani film and made around Pakistani Rs 400 crore in the domestic and international market.
(With inputs from agencies)