Pakistan Olympic Association (PAO) President Lieutenant General (retired) Arif Hasan resigned from his post after 19 years.
Lt Gen Retd Arif Hasan wrote in a letter to the Executive Committee of the Pakistan Olympics Association members that he is resigning as President of POA on January 1, 2024.
He further wrote that the decision was not easy but due to ill health, he needed help to continue the responsibility of heading such an important organization.
Arif Hasan is currently living in America where he confirmed his resignation when contacted by Geo News, while Secretary POA Khalid Mahmood has also confirmed Arif Hasan’s resignation.
صدر پاکستان اولمپک ایسوسی ایشن لیفٹیننٹ جنرل (ر) عارف حسن 19 سال بعد عہدے سے مستعفیhttps://t.co/t0ymplVn4C
Arif Hassan was appointed as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the South Asian Games in 2002, after which he remained active in Pakistan Sports, in 2004 he became the first President of the Pakistan Olympic Association and was then elected for four consecutive terms.
After the resignation of Arif Hasan, the executive committee of the POA will temporarily decide on the acting president until the next elections.
Pakistani filmmaker, Sarmad Khoosat’s much-awaited Zindagi Tamasha has been delayed again.
As confirmed by Khoosat himself, the Arif Hassan and Eman Suleman starrer will no longer be releasing in the anticipated Friday slot. A new release date is yet to be announced, much to the dismay of a thoroughly enticed Pakistani audience that was all geared up to show the film its due share of love.
With a script revolving around Rahat, a beloved, devout Muslim who is a naat Khawan, the film zeroes in on the protagonist losing the support of his community after a video featuring him goes viral, causing shame to befall upon him and his family.
The fact that the cast and crew of Zindagi Tamasha have already experienced exhausting turbulence with regards to the release of the film is public knowledge. Despite the Senate Committee for Human Rights approving the screening of the film, its 2020 release became a looming question mark after Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) took offense with the content of the film, calling for protests against its release.
Earlier it was supposed to release on March 18, 2022 in Pakistani cinemas after a widely speculated controversy with religious elements involved due to which it was barred to be screened earlier.
The production company Khoosat Films released a trailer of the film on YouTube, showing its new release date.
The cast of the movie includes Arif Hassan, Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz, and Ali Kureshi.
The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”
The film was directed and co-produced by Sarmad Khoosat and written by Nirmal Bano
Zindagi Tamasha was screened at Busan International Film Festival(BIFF) in 2019 where it won the prestigious award titled Kim Ji-Seok Award. It also received an award at the 6th Asian World Film Festival in the category of Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 6th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in 2021.
The film was also the official entry from Pakistan for the 93rd Academy Awards in the category of International Feature Film Award however, it failed to qualify to a list of 15 International feature films.
The film got into trouble last year when Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) called for protests against its release claiming that it contains blasphemous content.
In January 2020, the Humsafar fame director wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Chief of the Army Staff, and Minister for Information in which he detailed the problems his film was facing in its release.
Khoosat filed a petition against TLP in Lahore High Court for interfering in the release of the film however, he canceled to release of the film last year amidst the threats.
Last year, Senate Committee for Human Rights also approved the movie for screening and dismissed all the objections. Former Chairperson of the committee and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that the film can be screened when cinema halls open post-COVID.
Zindagi Tamasha may not have seen the light of the day in Pakistan, but it is receiving accolades and recognition internationally.
Pakistan’s official entry to the Oscars, Zindagi Tamasha bagged the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 6th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) held on March 15. Lead actor Arif Hassan won the Snow Leopard Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat received the award from Jury member Luba Balagova Kandoor, while Jury member Joanne Goh presented the award to Hassan.
According to a press release, “Almost 40 films from over 20 participating countries were presented during the six-day Festival that included 11 Oscar submissions for Best International Feature Film and 12 Golden Globe submissions for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language.”
Directed and co-produced by Khoosat and written by Nirmal Bano, Zindagi Tamasha features Hassan, Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz and Ali Kureshi in the lead roles. The film is centred around a naat khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from society when a video of him enjoying a song is leaked. The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held in October 2019 where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award.
The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”
Meanwhile, Zindagi Tamasha is yet to release in cinemas in Pakistan. It was initially scheduled to hit screens on January 25, 2020, but immense backlash from religious circles forced the federal and provincial government to halt its release. However, in July 2020, the Senate HR committee cleared the film and allowed it to be screened once cinemas open post-COVID-19.
While the director and team are yet to comment on their big win, Wahab Riaz congratulated the makers of the film for their achievement.
Zindagi Tamasha winning the best film award at 6th Asian World Film festival after competing against films from China, Iran, Japan and many other powerhouse film industries. A big shoutout to everyone involved, this will definitely help lifting the Pakistani Industry up pic.twitter.com/UkWW1Y5ifl
The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), founded by Kyrgyz public figure Sadyk Sher Niyaz, brings the very best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles to draw greater recognition to the region’s wealth of filmmakers and strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. Uniting through cross-cultural collaboration, the Festival champions films from over 50 countries across Asia, spanning from Turkey to Japan and from Russia to India and South-East Asia. The Festival is unique in that it predominantly screens Oscar and Golden Globe submissions for Best International Feature Film and Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language respectively. All films are showcased to members of the Motion Picture Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration. AWFF is a non-profit organization under Aitysh USA.
