No announcements, only surprises: 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' makers hint release

Is it really happening? Are we finally going to see The Legend of Maula Jatt on the big screen? Well, it sure seems like it! Over the last week, there has been buzz surrounding the release of the much-awaited film.

The Legend of Maula Jatt stars Fawad Khan, Humaima Malick, Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi in lead roles. Much like Maula Jatt and Wehshi Jatt, the film is a retelling of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi's Urdu play Gandasa.

Responding to the rumours, producer Ammarah Hikmat and actor Mirza Gohar Rasheed took to social media and shared their own take on the matter. While Rasheed took a jibe, Hikmat shared there will be no announcements. "This time no announcements, only surprises!" the producer shared on Instagram alongside a Pakistani flag. 

The Legend of Maula Jatt was initially announced in 2011. A decade later, the film is yet to be released. Earlier this year, The Legend of Maula Jatt was finally free from all the legal entanglement after Sarwer Bhatti, the producer of the original film withdrew all cases. Bhatti has denied all rumors of a financial settlement between himself and the producers of the film. Bhatti instead attributes the decision to his desire for the welfare of local cinema.

"In my career, I struggled a lot for the welfare of local cinema and the film industry. If the film industry could be strengthened by withdrawing the case, then I will do so. Surely more volume of local releases across the country would benefit the industry," Bhatti told The Express Tribune.

The main producers of The Legend of Maula Jatt, Ammara Hikmat and Bilal Lashari were embroiled in a two-year legal battle with Bhatti. The latter had filed a case over copyright infringement, claiming that his company Bahoo Films owned the rights to the Maula Jatt story. As a result, The Legend of Maula Jatt's release was blocked. The team behind The Legend of Maula Jatt had subsequently filed cases against Bhatti.

"I allowed them for using copyrights of only my film Maula Jatt and also asked them to take back the cases they filed against me. They and their parents had approached me. When our own children make mistakes, we forgive them. Both Bilal and Ammara are like my own children so I forgive them," he said.

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