Renowned Pakistani actor and director Sarmad Khoosat recently unveiled his passion project, Zindagi Tamasha, earlier in August. Now, Sarmad has engaged in an interview with the Directors Guild of Pakistan, sharing insights into his career-defining moments.
Participating in a conversation with Rafay Rashdi and Misbah Khalid for a series titled “The Director’s Chair,” Sarmad delves into his directorial journey across diverse projects, highlighting how Humsafar played a pivotal role in paving the path for more ambitious undertakings like Manto.
During the interview, the Pardes actor emphasizes the significance of the path one must traverse to establish themselves as a storyteller within the local industry. He underscores the need for proper educational degrees and programs to provide aspiring directors with a foundation, explaining, “The freedom you will achieve from an educational degree is not something you would get in the practical field. Starting off in the field runs the risk of young talent wanting to live up to a certain directorial style, or to measure success based off of YouTube likes, or who makes the most money.”
When prompted about the projects closest to his heart, Sarmad singles out two: Humsafar and Manto – each for distinct reasons. He notes that both projects achieved success through vastly different avenues of comparison. While Humsafar, despite being mainstream with actors Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, may not have been his most passionate endeavor, its success granted him the leverage to pursue more provocative projects. Sarmad states, “It is important to get that kind of validation, but what you do with that validation [matters]; I used that validation to earn the freedom to make Manto.”
Regarding Manto, Sarmad reveals that this project holds a special place in his heart. Despite reportedly earning less than half of what he garnered from his serial, he worked on Manto as an actor, director, additional screenwriter, editor, and sometimes project manager. He elaborates, “I think the project is close to my heart because I had established an emotional connection with it. So, when today I look back at it, of course, it gave me financial damage, of course, it gave me a lot of heartache [and] trauma, but it is very close to my heart and when I think of its success, of course, I think of Humsafar.”
Throughout the 30-minute discussion, the director of Zindagi Tamasha attributes his achievements to recognizing the value of believing in the narrative one aspires to convey. Concluding the interview, he remarks, “Storytellers are dreamers. They might believe that their story is very good, but that belief is very important. To be that foolish, to be a dreamer, to take that leap of faith, I feel, is very important to telling stories … and it will perhaps keep our individual voices and styles alive.”
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