Mahira Khan dreams of how ‘lovely’ a collaboration between Pakistan and Indian artists would be

While The Legend of Maula Jatt was all about the rivalry between the Natts and the Jatts, it wasn’t just the strong display of masculinity that made the film a blockbuster but also its modern take on empowered femininity that led the Bilal Lashari directorial to be a chart-buster.

Actor Mahira Khan, who plays Mukkho Natt in the film, spoke to Variety about how her character was different from the one in the original 1979 Younis Malik’s Maula Jatt. “The biggest thing that Mukkho had was that she was just such an empowered woman – she loved fearlessly, her moral compass was so intact, she had integrity and she was fierce also,” she exclaimed with pride. “That was a very big thing that the women in today’s Maula Jatt are very empowered.”

The Raees actor revealed that prior to the film’s release, a lot of fans and media questioned her whether the women in the film will follow the same regressive route that the 1970s cult classic did. “A lot of people asked me prior to the release that ‘Are we going to see the same 1970s representation of women? I said, no, you’re going to see Bilal Lashari’s representation of women.’ I’m glad to have been a part of it.”

The Legend of Maula Jatt is officially Pakistan’s highest-grossing film of all time. About how the team felt about the global success of the film, Khan added that while the magnitude of it was unexpected, it is also not surprising. “It is the quintessential reaction to a good film,” she said about the positive feedback that the makers received from not just fans across the globe but also Bollywood actors, directors and more.

2022 was particularly a big year for the Pakistani entertainment industry with The Legend of Maula Jatt’s global success and Saim Sadiq’s Joyland’s Oscar selection. Commenting on the future of the film industry, Khan called these filmmakers “passionate visionaries” and exclaimed that the industry needs more of them for every year to be the blockbuster that 2022 was.

“Whether it’s Joyland, whether it’s Maula Jatt, the people at the helm of these projects are passionate. They have stories to tell and they are visionaries. We need more directors, more storytellers, who are telling stories from the heart,” she said while adding that the storytellers can’t make much difference without the support of their government.

“The other thing we really, really need is that I would like to see our government supporting our industry. And this year, we saw that happen.” Earlier this year, the Pakistani government recognised films as an industry and announced a film fund and major tax exemptions. About OTT platforms, the Bin Roye actor said that they’ll come when they recognise our content but before that, we should do maximum business while our cinemas bring in the audience with stellar films.

The conversation then shifted to Khan’s work in Bollywood and how she’s still in touch with her fellow artists but can’t be open about it on social media since the political climate makes them “easy targets” for trolling and boycotting trends.

“Unfortunately, we are easy targets, soft targets, whether it’s us here in Pakistan, whether it’s them there in India. Even now, we are so careful with what we write on social media. It’s not that we don’t talk to each other. It’s not that we don’t wish each other on our birthdays. It’s not that we don’t meet each other in different countries. It’s not that – it’s just that we are actually not just protecting ourselves but protecting each other,” she said.

However, Khan dreams of a collaboration between the two countries. “Unfortunately, it’s politics, it’s not a personal thing. On both ends, until the time that scapegoats are needed, we will always be that. But let’s say that it gets better. Let’s say that there is someone in power who does not use us as easy targets. That would be lovely. Can you just imagine the collaboration? It would be lovely.”

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