Maula Jatt (1979)

Maula Jatt (Punjabi: مولا جٹ‬) is a 1979 Pakistani Punjabi language action, musical film directed by Younis Malik and produced by Sarwar Bhatti. It stars Sultan Rahi in the lead role, with Aasia, and Mustafa Qureshi as the villain Noori Natt.

This movie belongs to a genre which represents the rural culture of Pakistani central Punjab. Its success set the trend of action films being popular in Pakistan and cemented Sultan Rahi as Lollywood's main hero. The film was inspired by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi's short story "Gandasa" which described the culture of Gujranwala's rural areas.

Story
The film is an unofficial sequel to the 1975's Wehshi Jatt. Wehshi Jatt was inspired by an Urdu play Gandasa written by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi which depicts a bloody feud in Gujranwala against the backdrop of rural Punjab.

Following the settlement of Maula's family feud in Wehshi Jatt, Maula has renounced violence and is in charge of administering the peace of his village and its surrounding villages.

The film begins with Makha Natt chasing Taani ( actress Seema). She asks for help but as soon as people hear that she is being pursued by Makha, a brother of Noori Natt, they ask her to leave and not share her misfortune with them. She was then gang raped by Makha Natt and his 17 fellows one by one. She arrives in Maula's village and asks for help. Maula Jatt arrives and decrees that if Makha wants to avoid the fate of being killed by his 'Gandasa', he should marry widow Taani who he has dishonoured and marry his sister off to the Taani' s brother. Taani has no family, so Maula orders Makha to marry his sister to his friend Moodha.

When Makha returns home to plot his revenge, his sister Daro incensed upon hearing what he has agreed to, then kills him. The Natt clan now try to avenge the humiliation that Maula Jatt has caused them while Maula Jatt tries to ensure that his decision is enforced and justice is done.

Later on, Noori Natt kidnaps Taani and rapes her repeatedly. She becomes pregnant and ultimately Maula Jatt forces Noori Natt to marry Taani. Taani gives birth to a son whom they name Maula Noori to finish off the revenge.

Film's impact
Film Maula Jatt was commercially a huge success in the 1980s and celebrated its Diamond Jubilee at the cinemas and the box office. It spawned a number of sequels, becoming the first ever successful unofficial franchise for a Lollywood title. Maula Jat's success spawned Maula Jat tey Noorie Nut as well as Maula Jat in London and continues to influence popular culture. Productions such as the 2002 play Jatt and Bond use Maula Jatt as their "inspiration". Now Pakistan's highest grossing film Waar (2013) director Bilal Lasharihas said that he is going to make official remake of Maula Jatt (1979).

Banning of the movie by the government
It is said that this film was banned because of violence, but later this ban was lifted.

Soundtracks
The songs were composed by Master Inayat Hussain. These were sung by some very popular singers: Noor Jehan, Mehnaz, Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Alam Lohar, Shaukat Ali and Ghulam Ali.

The soundtrack consisted of the following songs:
 * Nashe diye botlay, na aini att chukk ni... Inayat Hussain Bhatti
 * Jhanjhar kare teinu pyar we, main mar gayi Mehnaz
 * Rowe maan te gharoor, ajj hasse majboor Noor Jehan
 * Dildar mere pyar kolun bach ke te kithe Noor Jehan
 * A te wela aap dasse ga, kon maarda ae maidan pehle halle Alam Lohar, Shaukat Ali and others (a Punjabi bhangra song)

Sequel
Main article: Maula Jatt 2

In December 2013, Bilal Lashari, the director of highly successful film Waar (2013) announced that he will be directing the re-make of Maula Jatt (1979). On his sequel he commented, "My version of Maula Jatt will be a visual epic, with less dialogue and many captivating moments. It will be a dark but stylised take on Pakistan’s original film genre."