Daily Times

The Council of Islamic Ideology will review Sarmad Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha after being approached by the central censor board.

“The Council of Islamic Ideology has received a letter from the censor board chairperson to review Sarmad Khoosat’s film Zindagi Tamasha,” reads a press release issued by the council. “The council has decided to form a report over the film on a priority basis.”

The council has formed a four-member committee that will report back to the chairperson about the theme of the film and its larger social impact.

The committee will only form an opinion after a comparative analysis of the film, read the press release. Senior members will be included in the committee.

Following statements from the censor boards in Sindh and Punjab that they would not release the film this weekend, Special Assistant to the PM on Information and Broadcast Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted that the Pakistan Film Censor Board would consult the CII for a critical review.

The decision by the board comes even as the director has repeatedly insisted that “upon completion, the film was cleared by all three censor boards of Pakistan and had its world premiere at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival.”

On Tuesday, a statement issued by the Sindh Board of Censors claimed that while Zindagi Tamasha had been cleared, they were informed that if the film was released it would cause “unrest” within some segments of society and “may deteriorate and be detrimental to the peaceful circumstances in the country”.

In order to avoid such a situation, the board decided not to release the film till further notice.

Similarly, in Punjab, the censor board said that the film would not be released on the scheduled date. A notification from the board claimed that the film will be reviewed again due to “persistent complaints received from different quarters” on February 3. It is believed that TLP’s general secretary will represent the party at the screening.