Adil Najam
For a moment I flirted with the idea of using the title “The Greatest Pakistani Movie Ever?” (to match with the earlier ATP post on PTV show Fifty-Fifty). But even with the question mark at the end, that would have been unfair on the remarkable movies of the 1960s; particularly, for me, the Waheed Murad–Ahmad Rushdie hits.
That said, I do believe — and I know I am in a minority here — that Maulla Jatt is not just a remarkable but a milestone Pakistani film. Most people think of it as an ‘action’ film (and some would call it an over-action film), but for me it is a dialogue movie. Memorable for its dialogues and even more for how they were delivered by Sultan Rahi and Mustafa Qureshi.
This next clip is a good, although not the best, example of the barak (brawl) vernacular that is the hallmark of the Maulla series of movies.
Let me go out on a real limb here and suggest that Maula Jutt is to Pakistani cinema was Godfather was to Hollywood and what Shoalay was to Bollywood. I know, I know. That is too much to gulp. I am exagerating (on acting quality, for example); but only for effect! But play along and think of it….
It is an action movie most memorable for its dialogue. It blurs the line between good guys and bad guys. It is thick with political and social commentary. And it leaves an imprint on everyday language that lives beyond the movie (“I’ll make them an offer they cannot refuse”, “kitnay aadmi th-ay?”, “nawa aaya hai, soonia?”).
Produced by Sarwar Bhatti and written by Nasir Adib, Maulla Jatt is not only the biggest box-office hit ever in Pakistan’s history (it ran for five years straight), it is also a cultural, social and political icon; for good and for bad.
Released at the height of the Zia-ul-Haq regime, it was full of political innuendo. Die-hard fans will talk about how the message of the movie was that when faced with oppression we sometimes have to take things in our own hand (as Maulla does) but this is a painful process (hence Maulla’s constant desire not to have to use his dreaded ganDassa). At least, this is what the myth became.
Anyhow, I have a feeling I am going to get into trouble for this one; always happens when I mention Maula Jatt.
Amongst a large segment of our educated elites there is a deeply ingrained (and cultivated) feeling that Maulla Jatt is the height of the uncouth, of the ‘paindoo.’ No surprisingly, I find that most who hold this view have never actually seen the movie. So, be it. If paindoo it is, then paindoo I am!
see, I guessed it right:) Well, the remake is equally good. The music has been kept exactly like the original and whoever has sung this beautiful song has done it justice. So i get to hear two wonderful versions of the same song. Now you know why “creative copying” is good:)
p.s. there is another song “ghar aajaa soniye” that I suspect, is from Pakistan”. I “suspect” because it’s in punjabi and really melodious:) we Indians are producing Himesh Reshamiya nowadays:)
yup… that’s it….. that’s the Noor jahan song……
hoep they did a good job on the remake….
Thanks, Adil. the song goes like this:
“sab jag soye, ham jaagen,
taaron se karen baaten,
chaandani raaten…”
Got any clue?
Following on Jyoti, Maula Jatt was full of ‘touches’ that were borrowed from elsewhere, especially from Westerns but it was not a copy of GodFather…. My point was that it was to Pakistani cinema was GodFather and Sholay wee to Hollywood and Indian cinema, respectively… in terms of the content, the style, the change it signified and the general ethos.
In general, I am not bothered by copies… as long as it is a good copy… being influenced by others is part of the creative process itself… copies can sometimes be better than the originals.. the only bad things are bad copies… and we have plenty of those
I have not heard this song ‘Chandni Raaten’ that you mention… but that is the title, of course, one of the ALL-TIME great Noor Jahan songs… one of the very best ones… I am not sure who was the composer… Feroz Nizami or Khawaja Khurshid Anwar. See http://pakistaniat.wordpress.com/2006/07/30/madam/
If it is a copy of this somg or based on this, I hope they did a good job… becasue it is such a classic song and messing it up is a triple tragedy (the pain of having to hear a bad song is compounded by teh memory of knowing how good teh original was and also the knowledge that too many will never know about the beuty of teh original at all! You can listen to Noor Jahan’s version here:
http://www.muziq.net/showpage.php?page=search.php