Can Maula Jutt Take on Salman Khan’s Bharat? This Movie Critic Thinks So

An Indian film critic just pegged Bilal Lashari’s The Legend of Maula Jutt against Bollywood’s Bharat. 

Based on his tweet, Taran Adrash, who is the movie critic at Bollywood Hungama, has unexpectedly given a boost to the Fawad Khan starrer The Legends of Maula Jutt. This is because Taran has compared Jutt with the likes of another upcoming blockbuster Bharat, which stars none other than Salman Khan. Both movies are slated to release on Eid of 2019, or so Mr. Adrash says. Although there has been no such news of a duel from Maula Jutt’s side, we do know that the reboot is scheduled to release in 2019.

Salman Khan versus Fawad Khan… Pakistan is all set to release its most ambitious film #MaulaJatt on #Eid2019 *in their country* and Overseas… Salman’s #Bharat is also confirmed for #Eid2019, so it will be Khan vs Khan at Pakistan BO… #TheLegendOfMaulaJatt pic.twitter.com/F2wt9eEeO2

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 12, 2018

We don’t know whose side this critic is on but one thing is for sure. He’s intent on pegging the two films against each other as well as pegging the leads against each other.

The reboot of Maula Jutt, a Punjabi classic from the 70s (often referred to as Maula Jutt 2), will be called The Legend of Maula Jutt. The flick is said to be a modern take on the traditional Maula Jutt saga.

While Salman Khan’s Bharat has already created much hype, there is also the matter of Priyanka Chopra, who walked out of the film due to her wedding. Perhaps its fair to say that right now, Maula Jutt has plenty of good PR going for it.

Bharat may need to offer a lot more than Salman Khan’s name to compete with Maula Jutt. Although the Khan fandoms are big worldwide, as Taran put it, Maula Jutt has its own Khan as well, our very own hearthrob Fawad Khan.

The Pakistani film is not selling itself on the Khan strategy though. Besides the spectacular cast line up, Pakistani movie goers may be looking forward to see what the director of Waar has been up to with Maula Jutt.

The China Factor

Maula Jutt will be the first Pakistani film to be released simultaneously in China and Pakistan. While Tanan was concerned about the Pakistani box office, the Punjabi film may just do well in China, seeing how it has the world’s largest film audience. Based on official records, most commercially successful Bollywood films such as Dangal, Secret Super Star, Hindi Medium and Bahubali, all have been released in China months or a year after their domestic and international screenings.

Maula Jutt’s entry into China is a big deal, given how most films don’t make it past censorship screenings in China. According to their official press release:

It’s no mean feat as China has a limited quota for foreign films to be released each year.

Here’s to hoping the new Maula Jutt becomes a cultural tour de force as the original one did.