Sarmad Khoosat's Zindagi Tamasha may have failed to hit the screens in Pakistan but the film is being lauded on international platforms.
Pakistani actor Arif Hassan who essayed the lead role of Rahat Khawaja in Zindagi Tamasha (Circus of Life), bagged the top prize at the 6th Annual Asian World Film Festival.
The Gardaab star received the Snow Leopard Award for Best Actor during the award ceremony earlier this week which was presented by Jury member Joanne Goh.
After the news dropped, noted Pakistani writer Muhammad Hanif turned to Twitter to extend his felicitations while still playing a little safe.
“Congratulations to makers of Zindagi Tamasha. Not tagging them as still scared for them. Not saying [expletive] to those who stopped its release cos still scared of them,” he wrote.
Directed and co-produced by Sarmad Khoosat along with his sister Kanwal Khoosat, Zindagi Tamasha is a bilingual movie shot in Lahore.
Written by Nirmal Bano, a fresh graduate from Lahore's National College of Arts (NCA), the film features model-turned-actress Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz, Arif Hasan and Ali Qureshi in pivotal roles, with Sarmad having a special appearance in the upcoming film.