Maula Jatt belongs to all of us, says designer Fahad Hussayn

It took a village to bring together The Legend of Maula Jatt, from the star studded cast, amazing sets, beautiful costumes and overall direction and Fahad Hussayn, who designed the men’s costumes for the film, has a long list of people he wants to thank.

“The Legend of Maula Jatt is not a film, it’s a trajectory, thanks to the vision of Bilal Lashari and Ammara Hikmat this project housed, nurtured and provided artists an opportunity to show the world that we have the talent, we just need to be trusted with it,” he wrote in a lengthy Instagram post.

“It was truly an honour to be a part of this project and I today want to thank all the special people who I saw work day and night, jumping hoops to make all this happen!” he said, starting off with AD Sameer Shami, whom he called “the most hardworking Ad in the industry” and the “most organised person who kept us all on schedule”.

“Namsa and Hamza Bajwa, who brought the production to life, were often found just living on set to get things right, the backdrops, sets and the accessories designed for every character breathed life into the story,” he wrote. The designer also thanked duo Maram and Aabroo and lauded their team’s commitment to the project and the creation of “flawless hair and makeup looks, matching continuity down to immaculate details, SFX makeup, bloodworm and the wear and tear for action”.

Hussayn thanked his wardrobe teams for keeping up with his “crazy production demands and finishes” and for learning and dyeing things on set for him. “Hira and Maya your hard work will always inspire me.”

Filming for The Legend of Maula Jatt began in 2017 and the teams have worked on the film for years. Hussayn thanked his assistants “who kept up with my details for the lead costumes for the entire span of the film, the clothes, accessories, shoes, turbans including the on set assistance, Saima, Beenish, Usman, Nauman and Sana everyone on the team this film truly belongs to you”.

“My heartfelt thank you to consultants fro my teachers at the textile department of BNU and their support in achieving my life long dream for creating textures. Mainul, my student in Bangladesh managed all the natural dyeing seen in the film with his thesis,” wrote the designer. He thanked Asif and Shahid who mastered the art of making stitched dhotis and hand finished kurtas as well.

But it’s not just the people who worked directly on set that he wanted to thank. Hussayn also gave a shoutout to “all those vendors from pawn shops that I sourced the jewels from and beautiful silver work that you see”, which he said was all sourced from artisans of Kinari Bazaar in Lahore. He also thanked “the Chachas from small towns that supplied me vintage dhotis” as well as dentist Dr Zia for “casting Gohar’s gold tooth and bearing with us every spell of the shoot for the fitting and replications.”

“This film belongs to all of you too! And in the end I’d like to thank Ami for letting me borrow some of our heirlooms for the shoot that she has never let me touch otherwise!” he wrote, adding a touch of humour to his post.

“I’m extremely proud to have shared this historic moment in Pakistani cinema with you. In these hard times, we all need a good sense of belonging. So this is it, Maula Jatt belongs to all of us. Please go watch and support your people and your industry. We earned it hard and square!”

The Legend of Maula Jatt is currently screening in cinemas across Pakistan, albeit not in all cinemas. In Karachi, for example, it is only being screened at Atrium Cinemas. The movie stars Fawad Khan as the titular Maula Jatt, Hamza Ali Abbasi as Noori Natt, Humaima Mallick as Daaro Nattni, Mahira Khan as Mukkho Jatti , Gohar Rasheed as Maakha Natt, Ali Azmat as Gogi and Faris Shafi as Mooda.