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Filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat has announced that his much-awaited movie ‘Zindagi Tamasha’, after facing a series of controversies and delays, will be released on YouTube today.
The movie is set to release worldwide on Khoosat Films’ YouTube and Vimeo channels. Sarmad, who has directed and co-produced the film has urged the audience to view the film with an open heart and mind.
The movie had initially garnered international acclaim, winning multiple awards and being Pakistan’s official submission for the Oscars. Unfortunately, the movie never got a theatrical release in it s own country due to protests by religious groups.
The film faced difficulties in reaching local audiences despite receiving clearance from all three censor boards. Now, the team has decided to release the film directly to the audience on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Month.
In this regard, Sarmad took to Instagram and expressed his desire to ‘free’ the film during this month of independence.
View this post on Instagram
What is the movie about?
Zindagi Tamasha is set in Lahore and chronicles the chaos that ensues in the life of a staid, devout elderly man when a video featuring him gets uploaded on social media.
The film stars Arif Hasan, who plays a naat khwaan named Rahat and enjoys a celebrity status amongst his community in the old city of Lahore. He is a devout Muslim; someone who, in the eyes of everyone else, is almost super-humanly incapable of any sacrilege. Hence, when he does wrong, there is no forgiveness for him. Rahat and his family get sidelined by society after a video of him go viral on social media.
Read more: Controversial movie ‘Zindagi Tamasha’ gets green signal from MoIB
Indefinite delay
The movie faced controversy after Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) called for protests against its original release in 2020, alleging it was “blasphemous”. The following month, the late TLP leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi announced that they will never allow it to be released. In his announcement, Rizvi had clearly stated that even if the government were to green-light the release of the film, he will not allow its release.
International recognition
Zindagi Tamasha had its premiere at the Busan International Film Festival in 2019 and was the first Pakistani film to win the prestigious Kim Ji-Seok Award at the festival.
It also bagged the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 6th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in 2021. The movie was also Pakistan’s official film entry in the International Feature Film Award category for the 93rd Academy Awards in 2020.
