Zeeshan Memon
As a tribute to the man that was a pioneer in our film industry, an art exhibition titled ‘Maula Naein Marda’ [Lord won’t die] was organised at Sattar Baksh.
The title is apt for even after more than 35 years of the release of the film, the Maula Jatt persona has lived on.
“I think as a society, we are always searching for a hero, be it in politics or economics. We have a preoccupation with the supernatural,” said Mohammad Ali, one of the organisers who conceptualised the theme. “If you think of a hero that we’ve had as a nation, only Maula Jatt comes to the mind.”
Seven painters were asked to sketch their perception of Maula Jatt and paint their reinterpretation onto their canvas. The exhibition attempted to capture what Maula Jatt truly was, his entire personality showing both his dark, unforgiving side along with his love for justice.
“If you think about the thought put in behind Jatt, keeping aside the production quality, it’s amazing what Lollywood had achieved back in the 70s.”
One of the artists drew a faceless man, clad in a pink kurta with an orange dhoti holding his blood-stained Gandasa, an axe that can be compared to King Arthur’s Excalibur. Even without the face, the get-up spoke for itself; it could be none other than Maula Jatt. Even if one hasn’t seen the films, the description has an instant association with Sultan Rahi.
Jatt may be a vigilante but his character portrayal would have been incomplete without showing his romantic side. Some of the paintings showed Jatt with Anjuman, the woman he had fought for several times. Being a hardened man of few words and more action, the woman is shown pursuing him with words ‘Soniya dil da mamla’.
“I work with comic book art and I saw a poster of Jatt with Anjuman online,” said Ammad Tahir, one of the contributing artists. “Taking that as my inspiration, I did my version of it in a comic book style.”
A classic Punjabi film is incomplete without its core ingredient of dance and music. The film Maula Jatt was originally a musical, and this was incorporated in the exhibition as well. On the backdrop of a colourful tent, Jatt is shown with his trademark stick, showing off his bhangra moves.
Another artist showed a close-up of a girl swallowing Sultan Rahi’s head. Commenting on her piece Samya Arif said, “It’s a tongue-in-cheek kind of comment on how pop culture cashes on celebrities, such as Michael Jackson, Che Guevara and in this case Sultan Rahi.”
The most striking piece was by Parvaiz Rana where Jatt took on the identity of Superman and in another as James Bond. Even in the Superman costume, Jatt retained his desi style with his prominent moustache. As James Bond, Jatt was dressed in a slim-fitted suit with his Gandasa replaced by a pistol.
The personification of these two heroes sent a clear message to the audience, that our heroes should not be taken lightly- they can retain their stature in any guise.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2014.
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