The Legend of Maula Jatt
Maula Jatt, a fierce prizefighter with a tortured past seeks vengeance against his arch nemesis Noori Natt, the most feared warrior in the land of Punjab.
- Released: 2022-10-13
- Runtime: 153 minutes
- Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
- Stars: Fawad Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mahira Khan, Humaima Malick, Gohar Rasheed, Shafqat Cheema, Shamoon Abbasi, Nayyar Ejaz, Ali Azmat, Faris Shafi, Adnan Jaffar, Azzam, Saima Baloch
- Director: Bilal Lashari
Comments
- unfilteredt - 29 December 2022
Pak's Bahubali...?
Pakistan's attempt at a Bahubali-esque epic is a boring and bland feature with a few good performances and a lot of mediocre ones. Full disclaimer: I haven't watched Bahubali, RRR, KGF and others trying to do this medieval-style over-the-top masala action flick. Let's start with the performances. Hamza Ali Abbasi absolutely kills it as Noori Natt bringing all the menace necessary for the part. He absolutely shines in the final action sequences and it was an absolute joy to watch every second with him on screen. Fawad Khan does ok as the brooding silent protagonist but seemed uncomfortable in the fight sequences. Mahira Khan plays Mamta Kurkarni from Karan Arjun. Sadly a very two dimensional character that completely wastes her potential. Gohar Rasheed played his character like every other "off the hook" villain ever played in cinema. Humaima Malik was just about ok but was let down by her make up and wardrobe team who decided to make her the only character not appropriate for the era. Faris Shafi was a good sidekick and provided much needed comic relief to an otherwise boring feature. Ali Azmat was just ok. Too much of a caricature performance in my opinion. I'd totally watch the film that shows Gogi's bender after he left the tavern all happy and high, and didn't reappear until many scenes later.
Technically, the film rises above the precedent set by previous films from Pakistan, but still falls short of the "international standard" it's being touted as having achieved. Writing is standard. The Punjabi is thankfully not too complex so Hindi/Urdu speaking non-Punjabi viewers such as myself can enjoy the film with a bit of assistance from the subtitles. Cinematography is bland. The look of the film didn't really do service to the scale that is being tried to achieve. The indoor night shots are good, though sometimes too dark, but the outdoor ones are just garbage thanks to the clean blue blinding light that shines on the characters. The day shots are nothing to write home about either because the sets don't feel authentic. Colours are drab too. Low contrast and desaturated. Did the colourist fall in love with the raw footage? Could've at least matched the poster in terms of colour. Sound design was a bit obvious and you can hear the effects applied every time Hamza goes into his deep voice monologue that ends with "Soniye". But Hamza manages to distract from the obvious flaws and sucks you into his performance. Background music sounds like it was made with cheap software. And the score gets more and more confused as the film progresses with the composer throwing everything he's got trying pianos and string sections that feel like stock music and completely out of place for the era. This was an amazing opportunity to create a hardcore desi score that would lift the visuals, but it wasn't meant to be. The only highlight in the music was the song with the haunting melody in the middle of the film. Kind of thankful there weren't more songs given the already unnecessary length of the film. Which brings us to the editing. First fifteen minutes of the film were absolutely unnecessary. The prison seduction scene wasn't required either. And the rest of the film could've been tighter if the director who was also the DOP and editor hadn't fallen in love with all of his footage. The only thing that was outstanding technically, which was the saving grace of the film (along with Hamza's performance), was the gore. It was absolutely spectacular and unbelievably realistic. I couldn't tell if it was special effects or vfx but it was executed perfectly so kudos to the action and 'gore' team. If only such care had been taken in other departments. Bahut rant ho gaya.
It's sad that such a good cast was assembled with decent technicians but the end result is a boring mess. How long do we have to wait to watch Fawad and Mahira on screen in a feature of this scale again? - engr_adnan07 - 29 November 2022
Legend of Legends
This movie is literally jaw dropping legend of legends. Cast, direction, story and act is flawless. The legacy of original Maula Jatt has been upheld, infact it has crossed that too and set a new standard so high that directors will have a tough time ahead. This movie has shown that Pakistani actors, directors can make a legendary movie that people love. Minors details in the movie have been marvelously covered. The scenes capture the attention of viewers till the very end. The acting of both Fawad as Maula Jatt and Hamza as Noori Natt is awesome that no other actor could have performed better. Moreover, the historical culture of rural Punjab has been splendidly shown.
