KARACHI: Even though the film Zindagi Tamasha has been cleared by all censor boards and given the go-ahead for a smooth release, director Sarmad Khoosat took to Twitter to pen an open letter regarding the threats he was receiving prior to the release of the film. While he did not name those behind the threats, he did discuss the impact these threats would have and how they were going against the state and its institutions’ decisions.
Read: Sarmad Khoosat pens open letter to PM Imran Khan regarding new film ‘Zindagi Tamasha’
He then uploaded another letter in which he expressed his concerns regarding releasing the film in such hostile conditions.
Finally, Khoosat Films officially named the entity behind these threats. According to Dawn, Irfan Ali Khoosat, director of Khoosat Films Private Limited, has filed a petition in a Lahore civil court against the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for “trying to interfere into the smooth running, public screening/releasing” of the film. In the petition, Irfan urges the court to “[restrain] the defendant permanently from interfering into the peaceful releasing/public screening of above-named film on big screen/cinema in all over Pakistan illegally, unlawfully”.
Sarmad Khoosat also shared screenshots of some threats on his Instagram account, which claimed that his phone number and NIC number were being circulated via text messages.
Currently it is unclear whether the film will be releasing as per schedule, but if things go smoothly, then Zindagi Tamasha hits the cinemas on 24th January. So far, all the meet-ups in Karachi for the promotion of the film have been cancelled for now.
