"I still can't quite believe this one."
Bilal Lashari has announced that The Legend of Maula Jatt won two awards at the Jackie Chan International Action Film Week.
The awards were presented at the closing ceremony of the festival held in Harbin, China, on August 11, 2026, amid a dramatic open-air setting.
The Legend of Maula Jatt received the Special Jury Award and the Best Art Direction award.
Lashari shared the exciting news on Instagram, describing the moment as deeply personal and almost surreal for him.
He wrote: “Two awards, in the pouring rain, on a stage with Jackie Chan’s name on it.
“I still can’t quite believe this one.”
The director painted a vivid picture of the atmosphere at the open-air ceremony in Harbin, where rain fell throughout much of the evening.
He wrote: “Thousands in the crowd, and rain coming down through all of it.
“It had been on and off all evening.”
He added: “As a director, you dream of building moments like that on set.
“This one just happened.”
Lashari also opened up about the profound personal significance of receiving an award at a festival bearing Jackie Chan’s name.
“I grew up on Jackie Chan films. For a lot of us, that’s how we fell in love with action in the first place.
“So to be on a stage with his name on it, representing Pakistan, and then to shake his hand and have him congratulate us in person, I never pictured any of this when we started.”
The filmmaker also reflected on the universal and border-crossing power of action cinema as a storytelling medium.
“There’s really nothing that pulls people from every corner of the world together like a good action film.
“No subtitles needed — you just feel it.”
Lashari dedicated the Best Art Direction award to production designers Namsa Abbasi and Hamza Bajwa for their extraordinary contributions.
“What these two built wasn’t just sets and design, it was an entire world, and every scene of the film breathes because of them.”
He added that he wished both designers had been present at the ceremony in Harbin to accept the honour themselves in person.
The filmmaker also acknowledged producer Ammara Hikmat, who was unable to make the journey to China for the closing ceremony.
“And Ammara Hikmat, who couldn’t be with us in Harbin. We felt your absence up there.”
Lashari concluded his emotional and grateful Instagram post by dedicating the achievements to his entire team:
“To our entire team, thank you. Every bit of this is yours.”
“And to Pakistan, this one’s for you.”
The two awards mark yet another significant international milestone for The Legend of Maula Jatt.
The Pakistani blockbuster has steadily emerged as one of the most widely recognised and celebrated Pakistani films in recent cinematic history.
