The release of Sarmad Khoosat’s film Zindagi Tamasha, which was to premiere in cinemas on March 18 after much political controversy, has been postponed once again.

Starring Arif Hassan, Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz and Ai Kureshi, the film tells the story of a revered naat khawaan named Rahat, who loses the support of his community and brings himself and his family shame after a video of his goes viral on social media.

According to the film’s description on YouTube, the film is “an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on the little gods on this earth who police private passions.”

The filmmaker has confirmed that the release of Zindagi Tamasha has been postponed once again and it will “come out soon.” He didn’t however, share the reason behind the delay.

Originally scheduled to be released in January 2020, Zindagi Tamasha was censured by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan who accused the film of being “blasphemous” and protested against its release. Khoosat had filed a petition against the party in a Lahore court for “trying to interfere into the smooth running, public screening/releasing” of the film.

The Senate Committee for Human Rights dismissed all objections against the movie in July 2020.

Zindagi Tamasha was premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2019 and became the first Pakistani film to win the prestigious Kim Ji-Seok Award.

The film also received the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 6th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in 2021.