 There
is no need to go into the story, a gandasa, a howling musical note,
fits of staccato laughter and the dialogue are the only things you
need to savour the very essence of Maula Jatt. Memorably scripted
by Nasir Adib, and directed with a contagiously maddening, no-holds-barred
approach by Yunus Malik, Maula Jatt was made in 1979, and then never
forgotten. What you do need to know is that ultimately, Maula Jatt
is all about how there is no Yin without the Yang, the eternal struggle
between good and evil. Sultan Rahi as Maula Jatt is the good. Literally
the mama's boy - infamously appearing out of nowhere when his mother,
at the top of her lungs, shouts his name, Maula likes to growl,
scowl and yell maniacally and when the time comes - which it does,
in abundance- Maula likes to shed a lot of blood and enjoys ripped
off limbs flying in the air and bits of human intestines dangling
from his gandasa, all in the name of honour, justice and the Punjabi
way. Mustafa Qureshi (in the role of a lifetime) as Noorie Nath
is the evil. A demented sadomasochist like no other, his entry is
the tale of legends. We are introduced to a close-up of his foot
wrapped in chains, the howling musical note, the staccato laughter
and then the most menacing yet hilarious entry dialogue known to
man: ÒNawa ayah ain soneya?Ó And if we weren't having
enough fun, Chakori, as Daro Nathni, gives a spectacular performance,
probably the best of her career as the sister of Noorie Nath who
is as at least as demented and psychotic as her brother. What you
need to remember by heart-as many do- are the confrontations between
Maula Jatt and Noorie Nath where both exchange booming one liners,
the juggat as well as a number of high pitched war cries, the barrak
both unique to Punjabi culture. Ok, the visual style might give
some a headache-the sudden close-ups, the whiplash pan - which is
very popular in Indian soap-operas today. The production values
are horrible and the sound is pathetic, but who can deny the sheer
menace of Noorie Nath, the electric chemistry between Sultan Rahi
and Mustafa Qureshi, the last fight -where Maula Jatt slaughters
at least a hundred men, and made a diehard fan exclaim that it inspired
the makers of Matrix 2 to do the same with Neo - and the dialogue,
which if nothing else, is street poetry.
*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME
|
