Saba Qamar's next film is a tragic love story at heart, reveals Sarmad Khoosat

Sarmad Khoosat's Zindagi Tamasha has premiered at the Busan Film Festival in South Korea but the director already has a new feature to work on.

Earlier, Saba Qamar had revealed to Images that she has signed on her next feature film, Kamli which will be helmed by Khoosat.

Now, Khoosat, who has also written the flick, spoke about the project to Variety.

"A tragic love story at heart, the film is going to be a fresh mix of a rustic setting captured in a contemporary, universal sensibility,” said Khoosat. “Unlike other films of the genre, Kamli is not only going to depict the vibrancy and humour of rural Punjab, but also its poetic lyricism and love-lore in an international film aesthetic."

For now, Khoosat is in South Korea for Zindagi Tamasha, about which he shared, "What was most important to me was exploring the idea of tolerance. Tolerance not just to others (to allow people to exist the way they are) but also tolerance to self – and this is where the concept of shame, need for approval etc. come in to play."

"I have been in situations where I have felt I should have been more tolerant of others and more accepting of my own self."

Khoosat also spoke about Pakistani cinema, the journey it made and the current state its in.

According to the director, "The misfortune with our industry in the 1980's and 1990's was that it did not cater to a wider audience. But the last two decades have seen a nice variety of films come out, and the revival of Pakistani cinema."

"The mainstream is governed by commerce, but very interesting parallel cinema has also made its space – films like Moor [which was screened at Busan as well], Cake, Laal Kabootar, and even my first film Manto. The challenge remains financial support for genres beyond comedy or romance."

He added, "The absence of Indian films has highlighted just how nascent the Pakistani industry still is."