Bilal Lashari’s highly anticipated film, The Legend of Maula Jatt that stars Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Humaima Malick becomes the first film from the subcontinent to release in China on the same day as its domestic release, that is, Eid ul Fitr 2019.
Not many films have been able to achieve this status; a very few big studio-backed Hollywood projects (Spider Man 2, Captain America, X Men) have had such mainstream release in China. Most of the films such as Dangal, Secret Super Star, Hindi Medium and Bahubali that made it to cinemas in China were released months or years later than their initial releases in their respective countries. This is because China has a limited quota for foreign films that they can release each year and only a small number of films are selected annually after thorough scrutiny by the Chinese regulatory authorities.
Given that China is now the go-to market for Hollywood blockbusters in terms of revenue, The Legend of Maula Jatt making the cut will benefit our local film industry. It will give Pakistan a global footing in cinema and we wish more Pakistani films get a release date in China and set new benchmarks.
