Veteran Pakistani actor Shaan Shahid says he is not impressed with the dialogue delivery of The Legend of Maula Jatt duo- Hamza Ali Abbasi and Fawad Khan. Fawad Khan played Maula Jatt in the movie and Hamza Ali Abbasi played Noori Nath in the film.
TV host Ahmed Ali Butt asked him about the comments of the director of The Legend of Maula Jatt Bilal Lashari on not casting him in the movie. Bilal Lashari had said that Shaan Shahid has the potential to carry the film singlehandedly with his powerful performance. He wanted an onscreen pairing; hence he cast Hamza Ali Abbasi and Fawad Khan.
Responding to the question, Shaan Shahid said, “I think a director should always have a vision, and if Bilal had a certain pairing in mind, then that’s great.”
He then talked about the dialogue delivery of the actors in the movie. It seems he the actor was not impressed much in this regard. He said, “However, I felt that the Punjabi language should be treated with more respect; instead of being used like tissue paper, it should be worn instead, it’s your pehnawa (clothing) and if you are going to use the basic narrative of that ‘I don’t know Punjabi’, then you’re not an actor.”
The actor stressed how important it is for the actor to be apt in delivering languages since it’s part of their job. He added, “If you have to do a Pushto film, Sindhi film, or even English, it’s a basic requirement to have proper accents for them. But if you have to work on a French film, it’s the responsibility of the actor to prep themselves according to the film.”
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“It’s a praiseworthy thing that the actors spoke Punjabi; I’m not saying it wasn’t delivered well, but it missed a certain eloquence. That clarity should have been present in their dialogues,” said Shaan Shahid.
He praised the performance of Humaima Malik. “If we are talking about Humaima, then her work was exceptional. The way she walked and her portrayal [of Daro] resonated with a Punjabi faultlessly,” said Shan.
He recounted his experience when he started working in Punjabi films. “I just acted in a Punjabi film and it was a process to understand the production. I looked up all the veteran Punjabi actors and saw all their films. I saw what I was supposed to do, so I did feel as a director, his [Bilal] decision was right, but I felt a little that a lot could be done with Maula Jatt’s character,” concluded Shahid.