‘The Legend Of Maula Jatt’: Pakistani Epic Sets Global Opening Weekend Record

Guy Ritchie To Receive Honorary Award At Red Sea Film FestivalGuy Ritchie is to receive an Honorary Award at this year’s Red Sea Film Festival. During the Festival (Dec 1—10), Ritchie will also take part in an ‘In Conversation’ event where he will talk through his cinematic career. Mohammed Al Turki, CEO of the RedSeaIFF, said: “Guy Ritchie is a pioneering director and unique storyteller. Over the last 20 years, he has created a huge variety of unforgettable characters featuring original and intricate plots on the big screen. We are delighted to honor his extraordinary talents at the Festival and look forward to welcoming him to Jeddah this December.”

EXCLUSIVE: The stacked multi-generational romantic comedy Maybe I Do, starring a host of A-listers including Diane Keaton and Susan Sarandon, has sold to a bunch of key international territories.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been shot at a protest march in what his supporters are saying was an assassination attempt.

EXCLUSIVE: Principle photography has begun on the WWII drama The Boy In The Woods, a big-screen adaptation of the wartime novel The Boy in the Woods: A True Story of Survival During the Second World War by Maxwell Smart. 

It isn’t hard to believe that Bilal Lashari’s The Legend of Maula Jatt is, by some multiples, the most expensive film ever to come out of Pakistan. In the works since 2013, held up first by a copyright battle and then by Covid, it was finally released this month, thrilling audiences with its vast sets, elaborately choreographed set pieces and galaxy of stars: it is nothing if not lavish. It is also being vigorously touted as the catalyst that will revive the long-languishing fortunes of Lollywood, the Pakistani popular film industry. Time will tell. Audiences are certainly loving it. 

Hot fantasy actioner The Legend of Maula Jatt has hit a historic milestone, becoming the highest-grossing Pakistani film ever worldwide in only its second week of release, and the first to cross PKR 100cr ($4.5M) globally.

EXCLUSIVE: Rizwan Manji (Schitt’s Creek), Atharva Verma (Stargirl), Ayana Manji (Mira, Royal Detective), Meesha Shafi (The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Alicia Silverstone (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) and Hasan Minhaj (The King’s Jester) have signed on to star in the Pakistani American coming-of-age film Mustache — the first feature from writer-director Imran J. Khan.

Strictly Come Dancing star Hamza Yassin has taken the dancefloor by storm after his almost perfect score on Saturday night.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. ambassador on Saturday to express their "disappointment and concern" after President Joe Biden called Pakistan "one of the most dangerous nations in the world."  The president made the remark at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Los Angeles while discussing Chinese President Xi Jinping.  "This is a guy who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems.

Manori Ravindran International Editor New York’s South Asian International Film Festival has appointed Chayan Sarkar as its new president. A filmmaker, entrepreneur and festival director, Sarkar is also the founder of the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia. He takes over from SAIFF founder Shilen Amin, who will step down as president, but will remain a member of the festival’s board of directors. Sarkar joins SAIFF as the festival enters its 19th year as a leading film festival in the U.S. for new cinema from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and within the Indian diaspora. In recent years, SAIFF has become increasingly influential as a platform for South Asian cinema, both in the U.S. and internationally. Fourteen of India’s submissions for the international feature film Oscar have had their North American premieres at the festival.

Good Morning Britain was hit with some technical problems this morning (October 11) when a malfunctioning microphone caused an on-air blunder. Hosting the ITV daytime show were hosts Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid who welcomed entertainment reporter Richard Arnold to give an spooky announcement. Richard, 66, began his link and said: "Richard Arnold is going to be here with all the entertainment news and things are getting a tiny bit spooky." But as the "spooky" music played and the camera cut to Richard, he began speaking and there was no sound from his microphone.

ITV Good Morning Britain welcomed back regular presenter Richard Madeley after a lengthy break this morning (October 11) and the TV personality joined co-host Susanna Reid as he explained where he's been since viewers saw him last. Appearing back in his seat behind the GMB desk, Richard explained that he'd been kept busy and "up to his eyeballs" since he last appeared on-screen thanks to working on his novel.

Naman Ramachandran The long awaited “The Legend of Maula Jatt,” starring Pakistani superstars Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan (no relation), is set to release theatrically worldwide on Oct. 13. The Punjabi-language film, which is one of the biggest budgeted in the history of Pakistani cinema, is a reboot of Yunus Malik’s 1979 cult classic “Maula Jatt.” The film focuses on the legendary rivalry between local hero Maula Jatt and Noori Natt, the leader of a brutal gang. Director Bilal Lashari, whose debut feature “Waar” (2013) broke box office records in Pakistan, has reimagined the story for a global audience. The original “Maula Jatt” was released before Fawad Khan was born and his exposure to it was limited as his family spent several years away from Pakistan at the time it was gaining cult status.

Activist and Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai has joined Pakistani film “Joyland’s” team as Executive Producer, a Variety report stated. “Joyland,” directed by Saim Sadiq, is Pakistan’s official submission in the foreign language film category at the Oscars. Yousafzai is backing the film through her own production company, Extracurricular Productions.