A petition filed against the screening of Sarmad Khoosat’s film Zindagi Tamasha has been withdrawn. The reason? The Islamabad High Court judge who heard the case brought up how were accusations made against the film that’s never been screened in Pakistan.
Chaudhry Qadeer Ahmed filed a petition on Monday claiming that the movie is against the spirit of the Constitution, hurt religious sentiment and violated Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)’s rules.
Qadeer Ahmed urged for that the movie should not be released in Pakistan or at least, till the court reached a decision. PEMRA, the information ministry, members of the censor board and the film’s director were named as respondents.
How Not to Make a Statement
Upon hearing the petition, Islamabad High Court’s Justice Aamer Farooq asked;
“Where has the film been screened so far?”
The court then asked the petitioner;
“Have you seen the film anywhere or has it been released yet?”
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When Qadeer Ahmed’s lawyer admitted that he had not seen the film, the top court remarked;
“How can you comment on something that no one has seen?”
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the film’s trailer had been released online and it ‘disrespected naat khawans‘.
IHC then inquired when the Zindagi Tamasha release date was scheduled for. The petitioner’s lawyer informed the court that the film had not yet been released following the Punjab government’s decision against it.
He added that ‘it is important to respect the religious sentiment of the people‘. He then requested to take back his petition.
Hit Back With Lawsuits
Last week, Sarmad Khoosat’s father famed actor Irfan Khoosat filed a petition against the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for trying to interfere with the release of Zindagi Tamasha.
Zindagi Tamasha cast Arif Hasan, Samiya Mumtaz and Eman Suleman.
The petitioner asserted that the film which was promoting a “soft image of society” and had already been cleared by the censor boards twice. Yet the defendant was creating hurdles and interfering with the release.
The petition was later withdrawn.
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Manto director Sarmad Khoosat’s film was scheduled for release on January 24th. Following threats of protests by TLP, the Punjab and Sindh censor boards issued a statement delaying the release.
Just confirmed from a senior member of TLP. They have been ensured that their party will be consulted for any meetings and partake in any viewings leading to the release of #ZindagiTamasha.
"We have tried hard to highlight this matter and govt has no choice but to satisfy us."— Rafay Mahmood (@Rafay_Mahmood) January 21, 2020
Later on, news emerged that TLP members would now sit on the review board for yet another censor board review.
Punjab and Sindh censor boards issued a statements’ claimed that they were told that if the film was released it would cause ‘unrest within some segments of society’.
