Categorized as an opinion, but a fact will remain. ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ is the murder of Punjab. It is the vast atrocities of the elements of “pindh”(village) culture. It is the death of history, and all those that filled their souls with it.
Bilal Lashari’s Maula Jatt, a rendition of the original Maula Jatt of 1979 has been butchered, vulgarized, and absolutely torn to shreds what its true essence was. It was an absolutely heartwrenching two hours, to watch the true story of two brave men, butchered to a pathetic movie that robbed elements of what was successful at the time.
That being said, that is the flaw with Pakistan. The liberals, who believe in their self-proclaimed superiority to barbarians(local public), have yet again managed to ruin a relic. The original movie not only was a true masterpiece of its time, but it was a true story. The new movie, was a melting pot of trends, sex, blood & gore, and a confusion of understanding.
This article will be of a lengthy read – and it is broken down as follows.
The Legend of Maula Jatt – Rendition of the Original:
This version was excessive with scenes of violence, attempted rape, a borderline incestual relationship of the protagonist and his sister(who played a vital role in the original movie), and a plain lack of understanding of the true culture of Punjab.
The characters were amplified with violence and lack of any sense of morality and were absolute barbarians. All of which, again, ruined what the whole story was about, and insulted the cradle of Punjabi culture – the Jatt and Sardar culture.
The movie stole majority of its essence from the then-famous Game of Thrones sequence. They added excessive killing and vicious scenes of gore, in their pathetic perspective “a selling perspective”. They made the villainous Daro Natt, a sloppy sick child who with her own issues was overly attached to her brother, the protagonist, Noori Natt(a name of legends). Their relationship is a problem of its own. However, the dressing sense of Daro in this film was insulting to the Jatt culture and daughters of chieftains. With her shoulder-shown top, her almost East-Indian-influenced jewelry and makeup. This character was a confusion, a sex symbol within the movie, and plainly, an abomination.
Makkah Natt – horrible acting, couldn’t speak the language, moving forward.
The language: None of the actors were Punjabi speakers, and none of them had the simplicity of delivering iconic lines in its proper dialect. The problem here isn’t in the actors, it is in Pakistanis as a whole. We believe speaking the most ancient and sweet language of Punjabi is a sign of being from a lesser class. This is very prominent among liberals and the “wannabe modernized” Pakistanis, who can’t even pronounce words in English correctly.
Mahira Khan who played Mukko, the Heroes damsel in distress, delivered her dialogues what sounded like partial moaning and sarcasm. It was a pathetic display of screenplay, and again not the way people of Punjab act in scenarios as shown in this movie.
The Punjabi culture isn’t as vulgar, or as open as shown in this movie, and trust me, no one is affected by this. There is no public nuisance. There is no sexual innuendos. There are no dirty talks, and there are most definitely no secret dates. These ideologies were promoted by a vulgar class of men that existed in those times belonging to the Butt clan of people, who made the most coin from such promotions.
Following this, is again the destruction of the story, which for your information is a true story, and the absolute conundrum throughout, begging the question, in what time is this movie set? At times this movie gives an idea of Pre-Mughal connotations. Two hours into the film, the producers remembered to introduce their culture with slang and taunts of Punjabi culture, inclusive of their drums and dance. There are also moments when this show is just blatantly a rendition of Ertugrul. Turbans with Sikh armor, claiming extortion money, the Natt’s were not that kind of mafia, their trends of Mafia were different, and what this movie missed out on again, was the culture of Punjab(This will be reflected later on in this passage).
Sex sells. That is what this movie did. A desperate move to appeal to all audiences and render its lack of knowledge of local culture, but promoting obscenity and violence within our media. The original movie had fight scenes, but nothing as graphic. Maybe Game of Thrones, Vikings, and Valhalla was the inspiration for this false story, for that is exactly what this movie was. A rip-off. The main soundtrack, “Chann Pichay”, is an exact replica of “The Hanging Tree” from the Hunger Games.
The Legend of Maula Jatt is the murder of Culture. It is the absolute slaughter of Punjabi virtues and values. This movie shows one thing, that Pakistanis are unaware. They will do anything and put in elements of everything, to sell a story that meant more than just a film to the people. The Original Maula Jatt was an ideology. It was a reality. it was the way people were.
The fascinating difference: The original movie had pathetic extras, incapable of acting – but then again an immature media industry. Ironically, the new movie had horrible main roles, but the extras did a damn good job.
Believe me when I say this: The cinematography, and the stunts, deserve applause. But they can never ever be considered when an ideology is destroyed, and a masterpiece decapitated.
