Jan 16, 20233 min read

The Legend of the Maula Jatt

Updated: Mar 2, 2023

Reviews by:

@cinemaa.wiz

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This post is about, most probably, the most influential Pakistani Movie of all time. A movie that inspired a whole Movie Culture. Maula Jatt is one of those wonders that comes in a Lifetime and turns the whole scene upside down. The movie is still talked about in High regard. Spawning an entire unofficial franchise, several cultural nodes, remakes, and, what not. Even the people who haven't seen the movie, are well aware of lots of its Dialogues.

The Review

Maula Jatt has pretty mediocre production, several average Fight choreographies, some outdated cultural norms, and a few scenes that should've been trimmed, BUT still... It delivers where it has to.

(Maula Jatt is by far my favorite Pakistani film and a film I won't recommend to people who don't have the know-how of Punjabi, Although it is available with subs on Youtube, to be honest, the fun resides majorly in the context and delivery.)

Now, characterization is the best the ing about the movie. Maula Jatt is a Loud, Unapologetic, and egoistic Macho, who in true meaning is a beacon of Rage. Against him is Noori Natt, a soft-spoken and sharp-witted goon who craves an enemy who can give him toe, in true nature, a beacon of organized chaos (If that's a thing).

The World of Maula Jatt feels like Dystopia, and the music gives it the feel of a Western. With Over the Top nature of the movie, everything fits in to give out a very well-placed Action Blockbuster.

More than Action, the movie has Barrak* and Barrak's are the things that make this movie enjoyable as hell. And increases its rewatchability factor. The constant Back and Forth between the characters in the fight over who comes up with a better one-liner gives this movie a different and unique taste. Dialogues like "Nawa Aayaan ae Soneya (Are you new here, buddy)" and "Maule nu Maula na maaray te Maula Nahi Marda (If Maula (Almighty) doesn't kill Maula (Jatt), Maula won't die)" are two of the most popular dialogues in the history of Pakistani Cinema.

The acting performances are all great, what good is a great character if it is not acted well? Sultan Rahi plays Maula Jatt with sheer brilliance, his body language is top notch and he does feel like a force to reckon with... Mustafa Qureshi as Noori Natt, the antagonist of this movie is, hands down, one of the best acting performances I've ever seen. He makes you feel his terror through the silence and sweet demeanor. So damn good. One actor I adored there was Chakori, who plays the role of Daaro Nattni, and plays it to perfection.

10/10

Barrak?

Barrak is quite an important aspect of Fights in Punjabi Cinema. Barrak is the verbal comments/one-liners the protagonist and antagonist pass at each other to demean one another and establish one's superiority. It's the Punjabi way of saying "Don't mess with me, I am far superior to you".

Franchise and Remakes

Maula Jatt was the first Pakistani movie to spawn a (not so official) Franchise. The movie "Maula Jatt" itself is an unofficial sequel to a movie named "Wehshi Jatt" and has 2 unofficial sequels being "Maula Jatt te Noori Natt" and "Maula Jatt in London". And a side character (Daaro Nattni) appears in a movie named "Wehshi Aurat" in a Cameo.

The movie got remade in Bollywood as "Jeene Nahi Doonga" which starred Dharmendra and Shatrugan Sinha.

A new wave Pakistani Movie "Legend of Maula Jatt " was said to be a remake of the movie but later it was cleared by Director that he just took the names of the characters and made an original story, it stars Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, and Hamza Ali Abbasi. The film was scheduled to release back in 2018 but was stopped due to a copyright case. The case did in the end get settled. The latest reports say the movie will release in September 2022.

Gandasa Culture

Maula Jatt was a huge hit, it ran for over 300 weeks, despite having a brawl with Govt. officials who wanted it to be banned. It is said that the movie would've broken all the records if it wasn't for several bans. across its run.

With its success came a wave, a wave replicating the formula, a wave that was named The Gandasa culture as the common ingredient of all the movies was the symbolization of Gandasa, which is a tool of Cultivation. In action movies, it symbolizes the fact that an oppressed has taken up the role of executioner, hence the only tool he got is his Gandasa.

And as the movies started following the idea, they did get hit tag, BUT none of them reached the level of the OG Maula Jatt

(This post is part 8-posts series, 4/8)

Thanks for Reading

By @cinemaa.wiz

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