Zindagi Tamasha: Not our job to given opinion on movies, says CII

Chairman says it is not the responsibility of the council to give opinions about films and dramas

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), which the government recently approached to determine if Sarmad Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha was suitable for public exhibition, said on Saturday “it does not come under the responsibilities of the body to give an opinion about films and dramas”.



“We will not give a verdict but a suggestion about the film. Only concerned authorities should decide about the fate of the film,” said CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz.

In the wake of a recent controversy stirred by the trailer of the film, the government decided to block its release. The issue started after members and supporters of Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) started an online campaign, demanding to ban the ‘objectionable’ film in Pakistan.

Commenting on the film, the CII chairman said, “The government has consulted us on the film and we will evaluate it, although it does not come under the responsibilities of the body to give an opinion about films and dramas.”

“We want to ensure that we do not make any under-pressure decision on the matter. This is the reason why we will take the help of the people who are experts in films and drama fraternities.”

Zindagi Tamasha

The controversy around the award-winning film Zindagi Tamasha started when its trailer was released.

The government had to block its release after TLP objected to its portrayal of a struggling cleric. It was to have hit cinemas on January 24.

In this connection, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) also invited CII members to preview the film as per government instructions.

The TLP started an online campaign, demanding to ban the ‘objectionable’ film in Pakistan. They had also announced a country-wide protest that was later taken back following government intervention.



Last week, filmmaker Sarmad wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, claiming there were attempts to stop his film from releasing despite it being cleared by the central censor board.

He had been clarifying that the film had no objectionable content and had already been cleared by the censor boards.