‘Zindagi Tamasha’ Gets Evaluated by the Council of Islamic Ideology

Here’s the update.

Zindagi Tamasha
Characters in Zindagi Tamasha

Ever since the trailer for Sarmad Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha came out, it has created a frenzy all over social media. In the wake of the recent controversy stirred by the trailer, the Federal government blocked the release of the film. For now, the film is under evaluation to decide if it depicts an accurate portrayal of Islam.

Zindagi Tamasha

The issue started after members and supporters of Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) started an online campaign, demanding to ban the ‘objectionable’ film in Pakistan. They also announced a country-wide protest that was later canceled following government intervention. On Tuesday, Prime Minister’s aide for Information, Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) is being consulted to determine if the film is suitable for public exhibition.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has invited CII members to preview the film as per govt instructions:

“We have reached out to CII following the aide’s tweet but are yet to set a time and day for the review meeting. Once that is finalised we will ask Sarmad Khoosat to bring his film for review,” Danyal Gilani Chairman CBFC told the Express Tribune, adding that preview could take place either at CII’s office or at the CBFC.

Zindagi Tamasha - TLP


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CII member, Maulana Muhammad Raghib Hussain noted that he received no invitation from the council.  However, he assured that the evaluation of the film will be based on the basic principles of Islam and what is not permitted in Islam.

“There is a certain manner in which sacred spaces and structures such as the Mosque and the Member need to be portrayed. The portrayal of important positions including that of the Imam will also be analyzed quite closely to ensure that the sanctity of Islam has not been compromised in the film. The idea is to ensure that an accurate picture of Islam is portrayed and nothing that is forbidden in the religion is glorified. Members of all sects and different schools of thought are part of the CII. Therefore a representative of TLP will also be there. However at the moment, we don’t know who will represent the party neither have we inquired,” concluded Hussain.

It remains unclear as to when the film will be released to the public. So far, Zindagi Tamasha is technically not banned. The release of the film has been postponed till 6th February. Stay posted for more updates.


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