Lashari’s Maula Jatt to release in 2017

Foreign action choreography crew hired for multimillion-dollar project

KARACHI: It seems like Bilal Lashari remains undeterred by the controversy surrounding Maula Jatt’s copyrights, with the filmmaker’s latest venture going strong. The film has entered the final stages of pre-production and is set to hit the floors this fall. Judging by earlier reports, the film should have been shot by now with a 2016 release, but it was a conscious decision on Lashari’s part to delay the film’s release till 2017.

“Waar was appreciated for its stylistic elements, but was criticised for its script, which is why I want to spend more time on Maula Jatt’s script,” Lashari told The Express Tribune. Although Nasir Adeeb, writer of the original film franchise, has written the screenplay of Lashari’s Maula Jatt, the film cannot be termed as a remake.

“My film is certainly not a remake of Maula Jatt. It is a lot more than that. It’s a new story with an entirely different take on the screenplay, certainly nothing like what happened in the case of the new Devdas,” said Lashari, adding that a few plot points have been retained from the older films. This is to ensure that audience members responsible for granting Maula Jatt cult status can also enjoy the film.

Foreign action choreography crew has also been hired for the multimillion-dollar project, details of which remain undisclosed. The producers are also in talks with a few well-known names from Pakistani cinema and Bollywood to play key roles in the film.

Another much-anticipated feature film that will make it to Pakistani cinemas in 2017 is Bloody Nasreen. In an earlier interview, Faisal Rafi, senior producer at Crew Motion Pictures, the company behind Bloody Nasreen, said, “We aim to release Bloody Nasreen in 2017, but will be presenting another film before that.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.

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