Sarmad Khoosat recently wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister and other state institutes seeking help in the release of “Zindagi Tamasha”. In the letter Sarmad referred to a certain group causing hindrance in the film’s release despite its clearance from the censor boards. However it feels like he didn’t get the desired response from the authorities. This made him write another letter, this time to the general public.
Getting dozens of threatening phone calls and msgs. Should I withdraw Zindagi Tamasha? pic.twitter.com/OJB396B1xq
— Sarmad Khoosat (@KhoosatSarmad) January 19, 2020
The heartfelt and somewhat heart breaking letter made it certain that we might not see the film’s release any time soon. Also Nueplex cinemas and Cinepax cinemas have removed the film from the schedule on their websites. This made us reach out to the Distribution Club, the company that is releasing the film across Pakistan. Their representative confirms that the film is “not releasing this Friday. However, we are trying to release it later once this all is settled.”
Sarmad’s contemporaries from the industry are now rallying to support the “Manto” director, asking the authorities to ensure the safe release of film and condemning the hurdles to the movie’s release. Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed, Sania Saeed, Shamoon Abbasi and Sanam Saeed showed their support on social media.
Mahira Khan
Time and again we are made to realise our power and our influence. A film ( that people haven’t seen) can make some this scared.
Mushkil ko bata ke tera Allah kitna bara hai @KhoosatSarmad https://t.co/AGVeTl8Dfh— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) January 19, 2020
Humayun Saeed
The government must address this at the earliest. Filmmaking in Pakistan is already a tough challenge; those who dare to venture into it need to be encouraged and appreciated https://t.co/H2ZP1Wjd8H
— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) January 18, 2020
Sania Saeed
Shamoon Abbasi
Ushna Shah
Sanam Saeed
Zindagi vaqai tamasha hai. All this effort to ban thought provoking stories despite censor boards giving it the go ahead, despite it being edited time and time again to appease sensitive sensibilities of a certain few, why? https://t.co/WvsJySGDFC
— Sanam Saeed (@sanammodysaeed) January 20, 2020
Accompanying these actors were directors like Saqib Malik and Nadeem Baig.
Nadeem Baig
Saqib Malik
While we at Pakistani Cinema are despondent that “Zindagi Tamasha” is not releasing this Friday as per schedule, we hope that authorities will ensure a smooth and secure release.
