Last week, word in the industry spread that Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan’s blockbuster, The Legend of Maula Jatt, was India-bound after its smashing success in Pakistan and around the world. The action drama was gearing up for a December 30 release, marking over a decade since Bol (2011), the last Pakistani film to get a theatrical release in the country. The movie opening across Indian screens could also be viewed as an inflection point — after all, the Indian film industry had stopped working with Pakistani actors, following the 2016 Uri attacks. However, only three days away from the scheduled release date, the producers have done a rethink. In the latest development, Zee Studios, which has acquired the film’s distribution rights in India, has deferred its release. 

If things had gone as planned, the Fawad and Mahira-starrer would begin with a limited release in Delhi and Punjab, playing across the multiplexes and single-screens. Sources tell us that Bilal Lashari’s directorial venture had also got the green signal from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). A trade source reveals, “The Legend of Maula Jatt took Pakistan by storm on its October 13 release. Soon, Zee Studios was in conversation with the makers to bring the movie to India. By mid-December, the studio submitted the action drama to the Censor Board, which green-lit it. The film’s trailers had started playing across theatres in Punjab. However, yesterday, the suits at the studio had a change of heart, and decided to postpone it. The new release date has yet to be finalised.”