Sarmad Khoosat

Early life and education

He is the son of veteran TV and film actor, producer and comedian Irfan Khoosat and Zahida Butt a PTV newscaster, while his sister Kanwal Khoosat is also a director, screenwriter and actress.

Academically, he graduated from Government College University (Lahore) and earned a master's degree in psychology and a gold medal. He also was a member of the Debating Kutta Society of GCU.

Career

He rose to prominence in 2001 when he wrote, directed, and acted in the sitcom Shashlik, which ran for over three years on PTV. It was followed by another sitcom on Indus TV, Two Aur Two Chaar, with almost the same cast members, including Nadia Afgan, Khossat's father Irfan Khoosat, and Khoosat himself.

Sarmad then directed a series of tele-films for Geo TV, Tamasha Ghar, in 2003, the screenwriter Saji Gul basing the work on themes dealing with subconscious desires and fears (inspired by the Freudian school of psychology).

He later directed Piya Naam Ka Diya in 2007, in which he acted opposite filmstar Saima Noor and Erum Akhtar. Sarmad then served as executive director for a soap serial named Mujhe Apna Naam-o-Nishan Milay, directed by his sister Kanwal Khoosat. Khoosat the directed Kalmoohi that was an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's Chokher Bali, began airing on PTV in early 2010, also got good reviews. In 2011, he gained significant prominence and acclaim with the TV drama Pani Jaisa Piyar that aired on Hum TV. It won him the best director award for it on LUX Style Awards. He directed Jal Pari, which was aired on Geo TV. He went on to direct Humsafar for Hum TV, which became an overnight success. His serial Shehr-e-Zaat was especially popular with women.

He conducted a workshop at the Lahore University of Management Sciences's annual amateur film festival in June 2011.

Khoosat directed episodes for Faseele Jaan Se Aagay and Ashk. He also directed the remake of the original Pakistani film, Aina, as a telefilm. In 2015, he completed shooting Mein Manto.

In October 2018, he delivered a 24-hour-long live act, No Time To Sleep, enacting the last 24 hours of a death row prisoner's life, a performance which earned him critical appreciation. As of October 2018, he wrote the script for Saqib Malik's upcoming production Ajnabee Sheher Main, while he has two upcoming feature films as director, writing one as well.

His 2019 feature film Zindagi Tamasha won the Kim Jin Seok award at the 24th Busan International Film Festival as well as the Best Film and Best Actor at the Asian World Film Festival 2021. Despite its critical acclaim, the film release was halted in 2020 by the notorious party, TLP, which called for it to be censored. Despite cleared for release by the authorities, Khoosat continued to receive death threats calling for the film to be banned. It was selected as Pakistan's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but was not nominated. The film was then eventually released on YouTube on 4 August 2023.

Influence

Khoosat is influenced by Satyajit Ray and Ingmar Bergman in direction.

Filmography

Television serials

Webseries

Telefilms

Films

Awards and recognition

• Pride of Performance Award in 2017 by the President of Pakistan

References

References

1. (12 October 2012). "Shehr-e-Zaat: A spiritual romance". The Express Tribune (newspaper).
2. "Profile and interview of Sarmad Khoosat". Telepk.com website.
3. Tayyaba Rana (8 February 2016), [https://www.hipinpakistan.com/news/1148992 "The extremely talented Kanwal Khoosat gets 'HIP'"] {{Webarchive. link. (31 October 2018 , ''hip''. Retrieved 31 October 2018.)
4. "The subtle satire". The News International.
5. (28 February 2016). "If we can love Devdas, why not Manto without the whitewash?". Times of India.
6. "'Pani Jaisa Pyar' TV Drama Review". dramapakistani.net website.
7. (18 October 2011). "International Segment: Humsafar, a journey you wouldn't want to miss".
8. Odho, Atiqa. (24 February 2012). "Humsafar — Mohabbaton ka safar". The Express Tribune (newspaper).
9. (14 December 2011). "Humsafar: Here's what the noise is about". The Express Tribune (newspaper).
10. Raza, Rahib. (2011-02-13). "Festival at LUMS: Learning from others key to reviving film industry – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk.
11. (2015-06-09). "Saadat Manto comes to life in biopic 'Mein Manto'".
12. NewsBytes (30 October 2018), [https://www.thenews.com.pk/magazine/instep-today/387520-sarmad-khoosat-expresses-gratitude-for-overwhelming-response-on-no-time-to-sleep "Sarmad Khoosat expresses gratitude for overwhelming response on No Time To Sleep"], ''The News International''. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
13. Ahmed Sarym (30 November 2015), [https://www.hipinpakistan.com/news/1148463 "Saqib Malik is working on four scripts at the moment"] {{Webarchive. link. (31 October 2018 , ''hip''. Retrieved 31 October 2018)
14. Instep Desk (4 October 2018), [https://www.thenews.com.pk/magazine/instep-today/376544-sarmad-khoosat-announces-two-films "Sarmad Khoosat announces two films"], ''The News International''. 31 October 2018.
15. (2023-08-03). "Sarmad Khoosat announces he's uploading Zindagi Tamasha to YouTube on Aug 4".
16. Dr. Hasan Zafar. (8 September 2023). "Sarmad Khoosat On The Moral Ambiguity In Zindagi Tamasha". The Friday Times.
17. Ghafoor, Usman. (9 March 2020). "Pakistan showbiz: Saba Qamar to launch YouTube channel". Gulf News.
18. (2020-08-19). "Churails Episode 2, 3 and 4 Reviews".
19. Mossadiq, Zainab. (22 February 2022). "Baarwan Khiladi Trailer Drop Has Viewers 'Hooked' At 'First Shot'".
20. [https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/08/15/sarmad-khoosat-to-receive-pride-of-performance-award/ Sarmad Khoosat to receive 'Pride of Performance' award], Pakistan Today (newspaper), Published 15 August 2016, Retrieved 1 September 2017
21. (9 July 2012). "Lux Style Awards 2012: Glamour's night out".
22. (6 July 2013). "12th Lux Style Awards 2013 Pictures And Winner's List". Desi Free TV.
23. (30 May 2016). "Lux Style Awards 2016 nominations are out — did your favourite star make the cut?". Dawn News.
24. (23 November 2022). "LSA 2022: And the nominees are".
25. Agha, Saira. (10 October 2023). "Record-breaking track 'Pasoori' and Sarmad Khoosat's 'Kamli' wins big at star-studded LSAs". Daily Times.