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When a Film Goes Viral after a Fundraiser for Peace
By Sapan News Team
In giving, we receive. A recent series of serendipitous events at Southasia Peace Action Network , or Sapan, proved that when the intention is to be of service, the universe conspires to make great things happen.
It began when Sapan volunteers reached out to Lahore-based filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat to offer his time for a fundraiser for the nonprofit. Khoosat, one of Southasia’s finest filmmakers with acclaimed films like Kamli, Manto and Joyland under his belt, plus award-winning television dramas like Humsafar, promptly and generously agreed.
Sapan is a coalition of 50 organizations and 300-plus individuals promoting peace, dialogue, collaboration and solidarity in Southasia.
The virtual fundraiser discussion took place on 16 July 2023 , hosted by poet and theatre patron Arvinder Chamak in Amritsar, joined by journalists from around the region -- Malinda Seneviratne, former editor-in-chief of The Nation newspaper and award-winning poet in Colombo; Mandira Nayar, journalist and peace activist in Delhi; and Lubna Jerar, journalist and gender-equality activist in Karachi.
Serendipity struck just before the livestream began.
EMBED : https://www.youtube.com/live/ts3_W8hphuA?feature=share
Remembering the format Sapan had followed for its Film Club featuring Bani Singh’s award-winning filmTaangh/Longing last year, Sapan founder-curator Beena Sarwar asked Khoosat if he could make any of his films available via password to donors.
It didn't take Khoosat long to decide on the film to share for the fundraiser. It had to be Zindagi Tamasha, Pakistan’s official entry to the Oscars.
The film had won awards at its premiere at the Busan International Film Festival 2021 and at the 2021 Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles, but when certain vested interests raised a controversy around Zindagi Tamasha, Pakistani authorities banned it.
The film's scheduled release in March 2022 in theatres across the country was cancelled. With the ban in place, Pakistani cinemas could never screen it.
Khoosat felt the film, which was close to his heart, never got its due in its home country. During the fundraiser discussion, he offered to make it available for Sapan donors for a few days. He also agreed to join a private Zoom discussion with supporters the following Sunday.
In another stroke of luck, acclaimed actor Samiya Mumtaz, who plays the female lead in Zindagi Tamasha, also accepted Sapan’s invitation to join the fundraiser discussion.
EMBED : https://youtu.be/q-LHYyzF540
The Sapan team began sending out a link to the film to donors, taking the precaution to change passwords every 24 hours.
No one expected the social-media frenzy – or the swift piracy – that ensued.
The social platforms of Khoosat Films were swamped with messages and requests to open up the film to a wider audience. The renewed interest in Zindagi Tamasha led to unscrupulous social-media users peddling earlier pirated links to the film through WhatsApp messages, Twitter, and other platforms.
Journalist Ullekh NP in Delhi, who viewed the film through the Sapan fundraiser, wrote a review in Open magazine :
The director deserves praise for what he himself describes as his effort to make a “correct representation” of characters that bring to the fore the “slices of life,” the multiple layers of human behavior. Suave and articulate, Khoosat believes art should not have the burden of being ‘woke’ and socially reformative by design, even if personal and community reformation may sometimes be the natural outcome when a film is authentic and presents reality in all its nuance.
Ullekh also quoted Khoosat on the film’s ban:
“It is unfair because this is technically not a ban. I think it is the failure of the system that despite having certificates and clearances from the authorities, anyone with political power can call for a ban. Besides, banning is not the route to be taken anywhere. You can rate films, you can caution viewers about the content if there is violence, nudity, etc.”
In the wake of media attention and online requests, Khoosat initially told Sapan News that he would release his film online to a global audience through a pay-on-demand video streaming service on 14 August, Pakistan’s Independence Day.
However, almost overnight, because of concerns about rampant piracy, they felt compelled to take a “drastic and aggressive decision” and release the film earlier on 4 August on YouTube, free for viewers around the world.
Greeting his audience on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence month, the 44-year-old actor-producer said he had something else he wanted to set free: his film Zindagi Tamasha – ‘circus of life’.
“There is a sense of failure, not my failure, but a failure of the system and the powerlessness of our voice,” he says in a cameo before the film starts on YouTube, explaining why he took the decision to release the film in this way.
EMBED : https://youtu.be/xUkJEnHCaos
“I just want people to engage. The story has to be felt by the people whose story it is. Whatever the film makes you feel, it will definitely have a more profound effect on the people who are living that reality in this part of the world,” Khoosat later told Sapan News.
“It’s a sweet feeling,” he says, adding poignantly, “But the sense of loss doesn’t leave my heart because it was meant to be seen in a collective way on a bigger screen.”
Within hours, the YouTube link had racked up tens of thousands of views. Overnight, it crossed six figures, with the numbers still climbing.
This was totally unexpected. “It is overwhelming to see this film going viral. I have got hundreds of private messages with people just pouring their heart out after seeing the film,” Khoosat told Sapan News the following day.
In just 20 days, a series of events that began with a contribution to a good cause turned into a cascade of good fortune and set a banned film free.
From the circus of life, it became part of a circle of giving.
This is a Sapan News syndicated feature.
