Wikipedia

Maula Jatt

This article is about the 1979 film. For the 2022 film, see The Legend of Maula Jatt.

Maula Jatt (Punjabi: مَولا جٹ), is a 1979 Pakistani Punjabi-language action, musical film directed by Yunus Malik and produced by Sarwar Bhatti.[1]

Maula Jatt
Theatrical release poster
Directed byYunus Malik
Written byNasir Adeeb
Produced bySarwar Bhatti[1]
StarringSultan Rahi
Mustafa Qureshi
Aasia
Kaifee
Adeeb
Aliya Begum
Ilyas Kashmiri
CinematographyMasud Butt
Music byMaster Inayat Hussain
Production
company
Bahu Films
Running time
145 minutes
CountryPakistan
LanguagePunjabi

The film is an unofficial sequel to the 1975 Wehshi Jatt, starring Sultan Rahi as Maula Jatt and Mustafa Qureshi as his arch-rival Noori Natt.[2]

This film 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.[2] It received positive reviews from critics. An unofficial sequel titled Maula Jatt in London, also directed by Yunus Malik, was released in 1981.[3]

Plot

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The story is set in a village near the town of Mamdal, near Kabirwala. Following the settlement of Maula Jatt's family feud, Maula has renounced violence and is in charge of administering the peace of 25 villages.

A member of the Natt clan, Maakha, chases a girl, who is given protection by Maula's Bhabi Daani. When Maakha refuses to retreat, Maula's friend Moodha beats up Maakha and leaves a scar on his 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 the girl has no family, so Maula orders Maakha to marry his sister to Moodha. When Makha returns home, his sister Daaro kills him for cowardice. Daaro then goes to kill Maula, but is arrested on the way for Maakha's murder. However she is bailed out by a man who calls her sister, who is actually Maula.

When Noori Natt gets out of jail, he tells the police that he has run out of competition and he wants a worthy opponent. The police direct him to Malik Haaku, whose clan Maula had slaughtered. 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, Daaro tells him of Maakha's defeat and Maula's judgement that she should marry Moodha. Noori comes to Maula's village seeking revenge while Maula is away, and breaks Moodha's leg. When Maula returns, he vows to take Noori's leg in return and recovers his Gandasa.[a]

Maula then rides to find Noori and defeats many of Natt's men. Maula and Noori finally face off but police stop them from killing each other. In the meantime, Noori's brother-in-law Akku Qatil kills many of Maula's villagers in revenge. Finally a judge decrees that both Maula and Noori should be sent back to their villages under house arrest. However, soon both Jatt and Natt are provoked and ride against each other, although by the time they reach each other for a fight both have been shot several times by the police guarding them. In the hospital, Daaro realizes Maula had called her sister.

After Maula and Noori pretend to reconcile, the police lift the blockade from both villages. Immediately, Akku goes to attack Maula's village, but is himself killed. Maula sends Akku's body and other wedding gifts to Daaro, telling them the wedding procession is coming now, and Noori swears revenge on Maula's village.

As the groom's procession sets out for Daaro's village, Noori leads many Natt clansmen to attack the procession. Maula defeats all the Natt men, and then also Noori himself. 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. Maula immediately throws away his Gandasa and makes an impassioned plea to the audience to choose seeking justice over revenge.

Cast

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Legacy

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Film Maula Jatt was commercially successful 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.[2] It spawned a number of sequels, becoming the first-ever successful unofficial franchise for a Lollywood title. It was also remade in Hindi as Jeene Nahi Doonga.

Remake

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Main article: The Legend of Maula Jatt

Bilal Lashari, the director of Waar (2013) expressed interest in directing a remake 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."[5] The Legend of Maula Jatt, set to release in 2019, was delayed to October 2022 due to COVID-19.

Banning of the film by the government

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It is said that this film was banned because of violence, but later this ban was lifted.[2]

Soundtracks

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The songs were composed by Master Inayat Hussain.[4] These were sung by singers: Noor Jehan, Mehnaz, Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Alam Lohar, Shaukat Ali and Ghulam Ali.

The soundtrack consisted of the following songs:

Notes

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  1. ^ At the end of Wehshi Jatt he had buried his Gandasa at the grave of his friend Roshna, who had tried to keep him from violence and whose murder resulted in Maula Jatt's killing spree at the end of Wehshi Jatt.

References

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  1. ^ a b Sher Khan (28 February 2013). "Films like Maula Jatt changed Lollywood forever, says Sarwar Bhatti". The Express Tribune newspaper. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hari Narayan (8 March 2019). "The mythopoeia of a machete (Maula Jatt is to Pakistan what Sholay is to India)". The Hindu newspaper. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Nate Rabe (15 January 2019). "Severed limbs and rivers of blood: The film that inspired Fawad Khan's 'The Legend of Maula Jatt'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Alan Goble. "Maula Jatt (1979 film)". Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  5. ^ Rafay Mahmood (14 December 2013). "Bilal Lashari's next project: A multi-million dollar remake of Maula Jatt". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2019.

Further reading

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  • 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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