Dawn Images

The release of The Legend of Maula Jatt, one of the biggest Pakistani films to date, took an unexpected turn when very few cinemas in Pakistan actually screened the movie. After a week of confusion and criticism, Karachi’s Nueplex Cinemas released a statement explaining why it has yet to air the big budget film.

On Monday, the cinema chain posted an official statement on Instagram. “As a cornerstone of our film exhibition policy, Nueplex Cinemas has always been at the forefront when it comes to screening Pakistani films,” they started. “Over the years a number of Box Office records have also been set due to the business we have generated for local films.”

Getting straight to the point, the company mentioned some disagreeable conditions at play. “We feel that it is highly unfortunate that the distributor of the title The Legend of Maula Jatt is asking for exhibition terms which are out of the industry norms. Such rigid terms cannot be afforded by exhibitors, especially during times of economic instability.” The distributor had asked cinema owners to increase ticket prices by Rs200 per ticket for the first 10 days of the screening.

“We are hoping for a fairer approach in the future as we are always here to welcome and screen any Pakistani film with open arms,” the statement concluded.

Images reached out to Nadeem Mandviwalla, the distributor of the film and owner of Atrium Cinemas (one of the only two cinemas where the movie is playing in Karachi) for a comment. He said he will address the matter at a press conference on Thursday. He had told Images earlier that negotiations with the cinemas are underway and should be resolved soon before the film was released.

Karachi’s The Arena Cinemas issued a similar statement on Friday on their Instagram account in which they apologised for the delay and blamed it on the distributors. “We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience faced due to potential increase in the ticket price of The Legend of Maula jatt. The issue is coming from the distributors of the movie.” They assured followers that through negotiations between the distributor and cinema, they will get back to everyone with “good news” soon.

Capri is the other cinema in Karachi where the film is being screened.

But it’s not just Nueplex and The Arena with unresolved issues. Images reached out to several cinemas in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and many claimed to be still stuck in the negotiation process. Universal and Chalo Cinemas are screening the film in Lahore and Cinepax Cinemas in Islamabad said they will start playing it on Monday night.