‘Legend of Maula Jatt’ release in India uncertain amid backlash

File photo: Special arrangement

Government sources on Saturday (September 28, 2024) signalled that they would seek to block the release of the Pakistani Punjabi-language film The Legend of Maula Jatt in India, after, among other things, political backlash from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s leader Raj Thackeray. Mr. Thackeray vowed last week to prevent the film’s screening at any cinema in Maharashtra. 

Perhaps as a result of this backlash, the release plans of the film were modified: it would only come out in Punjab, a producer for the film said last week. The film, directed by Bilal Lashari and starring Fawad Khan, was originally released in 2022. It was also cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification that year, after being submitted by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the Indian distributor for the film. While the movie was due to come out that year, Zee apparently canceled the release.

A Zee spokesperson did not have an immediate comment on the government’s moves to stop the film’s release. Since the movie has already been banned by the CBFC, and the Cinematograph Act does not give the Union government revisional powers to stall a movie’s release after this key step, there are few formal ways for the government to seek a ban on the movie.

Spokespeople for PVR INOX, which operates 90 screens in Punjab, did not immediately respond to queries on whether the government had asked them to not distribute the film. While the movie is scheduled for an October 2 release, on a Wednesday, tickets were not on sale as of Saturday (September 28, 2024).

The Pakistani entertainment industry’s presence in India has been widely restricted in the past few years. Following the Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association passed a resolution banning Pakistani actors and crewmembers from working in India. 

No Pakistani film has had a wide release in India in years, with the last significant release being Bol in 2011. The film Joyland, which was last year’s submission by Pakistan to the Oscars, was slated for a release in March 2023; however, this release never materialised beyond a few privately organised screenings. The censor board did not clear the movie, and it is unclear if the film had been submitted to them.

The sources who indicated that Maula Jatt would not be allowed to release in India cited a longstanding ban on Indian films in Pakistan, in place since 2019. Despite the mutual hostility, some collaborations have emerged, largely from Zee itself. The media conglomerate until 2017 operated a whole TV channel almost entirely dedicated to syndicating Pakistani TV shows. This channel was shut down after the Uri attack, which killed 19 Indian soldiers. 

The Zindagi brand, which became online-only, resumed collaboration with Pakistani talent a few years later. The 2020 web series Churails was made by British-Pakistani filmmaker Asim Abbasi for Zee. The series was banned in Pakistan, and after the Zee5 streaming platform reinstated the show, the Pakistani government prohibited banks from processing payments to the service.

Another series, Barzakh, was also produced for Zee, and episodes were released on YouTube. After backlash to a gay character in the series, the show was blocked off from YouTube in Pakistan a few days after it had concluded its run.