Filmmaker Abu Aleeha has spoken out after the trailer for the upcoming Punjabi film Mango Jutt left his name off the director’s credit, despite his earlier involvement in writing, directing, and shooting the project.
Mango Jutt is an upcoming Punjabi action-comedy produced by actress Hareem Farooq, marking her first Punjabi-language film and her return to cinema after five years. The film stars Faysal Quraishi, Hareem Farooq and Shamoon Abbasi, and had a difficult journey through production, facing repeated delays before its trailer finally released this week.
Reacting to questions from fans who called the trailer disappointing, Abu Aleeha said he would explain his exit from the project in detail. He said he parted ways with the makers after refusing to shoot extra scenes that he claims were requested to help secure Rs. 3 crore in funding from the Punjab government. He further alleged that he later rejected a final cut of the film that had been locked by an editor from Mumbai, India, calling the quality of that edit substandard. According to him, the version now being promoted does not represent the film he had originally written, shot and directed.
The producer’s side has not issued a detailed public response yet. The controversy has added to the buzz already surrounding the film’s long-delayed release, with no official cinema date announced so far.
