The most predictable thing about Sarmad Khoosat’s Lali is its unpredictability. The Pakistani director’s fourth feature, which he has co-written with Sundus Hashmi, is a thickly textured psychodrama about the strange marriage between Zeba and Sajawal.
Zeba (Mamya Shajaffar) is considered a bad omen. Sajawal (Channan Hanif) has a prominent birthmark on his face and . Sajawal’s insecurity and paranoia unsettle Zeba, her mother-in-law Sohni (Meher Bano) and the neighbour Bholi (Rasti Farooq).
Set in Sahiwal in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Lali braids together jinn lore, Sufi beliefs and contemporary gender politics. The Indus Valley Civilisation city Harappa features in one of the scenes. Khoosat rolls out striking colour-coded tableaus amidst brilliant music by Abdullah Siddiqui.
Lali is showing at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (April 23-26). The Punjabi-language movie was premiered in Berlin in February – the first entirely Pakistani production to be given this honour.
Khoosat is a third-generation showbiz personality, the grandson of the actor Sultan Khoosat and the son of actor-filmmaker Irfan Khoosat. Sarmad Khoosat’s mother, Zahida Butt, was a well-known radio and television anchor.
Before films, Khoosat directed numerous television serials and telefilms. Some of the shows are popular in India, especially Humsafar, starring Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan.
In 2015, Khoosat made his feature debut with Manto. The biopic explores...
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