Filmmaker Bilal Lashari announced that his blockbuster The Legend of Maula Jatt won two honours at the 7th Jackie Chan International Action Film Week in Harbin, China this month.

Lashari shared the news on Instagram, describing the moment as particularly meaningful because he grew up watching Jackie Chan’s films. “Two awards, in the pouring rain, on a stage with Jackie Chan’s name on it. I still can’t quite believe this one,” he wrote.

The Legend of Maula Jatt received the Special Jury Award and the Best Art Direction award at the closing ceremony of the festival, one of Asia’s major celebrations of action cinema.

Lashari also spoke about the significance of meeting Jackie Chan, whose films inspired his love for action cinema. “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,” he said.