Premiering at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival 2019 later this month, Sarmad Khoosat’s upcoming film Zindagi Tamasha (Circus of Life) is expected to release shortly in Pakistan. The film’s trailer recently launched at an intimate gathering, with some members of the cast and crew in attendance.
Featuring Arif Hassan as Rahat, who is a naat khuwaan, the trailer is dark yet very appealing and depicts how judgemental our society has grown to be. A devout Muslim, Rahat is known and respected in his community and this is why people don’t spare him when something unfavourable happens to him.
Apparently a leaked video, which contains something that doesn’t go with Rahat’s image, makes everyone question him, including his daughter Sadaf, essayed by Eman Suleman. Rahat is in a state of fix, not knowing how to handle the matter.
According to the creators, Zindagi Tamasha “is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.” Also, featuring Samiya Mumtaz and Ali Kureshi in important roles, the film is directed by Sarmad Khoosat, produced by Kanwal Khoosat and written by Nirmal Bano.
At the trailer launch, responding to whether he was scared to make a film that has religious connotations, Sarmad Khoosat shared, “One has to be brave enough to bring such issues to light; religion is a key aspect of our lives and we can’t ignore it. However, research is important.”
“The film celebrates a lot of things including religion,” Sarmad added, “I am nervous but sensationalizing it wasn’t the intention neither I have done that. It is a very sensitively handled idea by all of us including the writer, director as well as the actors.”