Sarmad Sultan Khoosat (Urdu: ‫( )سرمد سلطان کھوسٹ‬born May 7, 1979) is a Pakistani actor,

director and script-writer best known for directing the drama Humsafar and Shehr-e-Zaat.[1] He is the
son of veteran actor Irfan Khoosat.[2] He rose to prominence during the mid 1990s when he created
the sitcom Shashlick,[3] which ran for over three years on PTV.

Khoosat's first television drama as a director was Piya Naam Ka Diya in 2007 in which he acted
opposite filmstar Saima Syed Noor, and Irum Akhtar, Saima's performance was well received.[citation
needed]
Then Sarmad directed a soap serial named "Mujhay Apna Naam O Nishaan Milay" which was
beautifully written and scripted by "Seemal Numan", his sister, the drama got huge acclaim due to
the acting of the characters played by Irfan Khoosat, the four girls who were his daughters and a
woman who played a mother. Khoosat's drama, Kalmoohi, directed, written by himself and acted by
Sania Saeed, Sohail Sameer, Shamil Khan, Nasreen Qureshi, Irfan Khoosat and others began airing
onPTV channel in early 2010, also got good reviews. In 2011, he gained significant prominence and
acclaim with the drama Pani Jaisa Piyar[4] that aired on Hum TV and also got the best director award
for it on LUX Style Awards. He got visible prominence by directing "Jal Pari" which was aired on
GEO TV starring Numan Ejaz and new talent Neelam Munir. He went on to direct Humsafar for Hum
TV, which became an overnight success, receiving positive reviews from Pakistani and International
critics, soon after which came "Shehr-e-Zaat" got hugely popular in women of Pakistan. Both the
serials were repeated on Hum TV for more than one time due to their popularity. "[5][6][7][8]

He also wrote the script for Saqib Malik's production Ajnabee Shehr Mein.[2] He has directed
episodes for the drama series Faseele Jaan Se Aagay.[3] Drama serial Ashk. Recently he has
completed shooting a new project "Main Manto", its a big project with a huge ensemble cast, it will
be released as a film and later on as a drama serial under banner of Geo Entertainment, on the
same channel. Sarmad Sultan Khoosat directed the re-make of the old super hit Pakistani film,
Aina(1977), as a tele film.

He conducted a workshop at the Lahore University of Management Sciences's annual amateur film
festival in June 2011[9]

Academically, he did his Graduation from Government College University and did Masters in
Psychology and also owned a gold medal in it. He was also a very active member of DS(Debating
Society) of GCU.

: There seems to be a Manto revival in South Asia. Essays are being written on his life
and work, panel discussions are being held on Manto at literature festivals, every
writer under the sun claims inspiration from Manto. Why is Manto suddenly so
appealing?

Sarmad Khoosat: I think it is the rise of books and the reading culture/habit
generally. Only a decade ago, before social media and the e-culture had their effect,
talking about books or reading them had become sort of passe. And as far as Urdu
literature is concerned, even as recently as the late 90s there was this whole fad
about being cool enough not to know or explore the language at all. The whole Urdu
syllabus B generation... so I guess with this new rejuvenation of book reading culture,
people are trying to explore more of what they've got, their own indigenous literary
heritage, and Manto is in-escapable... and "sensational" and "controversial" and
hence "cool". Last year his centenary celebrations made him a star at another level. -
See more at:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20130712&page=16#st
hash.xkZq2HUu.dpuf

know all this sounds vain and superficial but honestly, Manto's works should have
been taught as a part of syllabi for various disciplines in social sciences. We,
however, have either disowned him for all these years or just indulged in him for the
sake of sensation and controversy. And I think people have become bolder and
braver in the last few years. They have certainly started exercising the freedom of
expression and the right to question dogmas and conformist rules, and this approach
has helped them pick up Manto's works. We have started to realize that Iqbal's
wasn't the only dream our collective-national Unconscious dreamt; there were
Manto's gritty and gory nightmares too.

TFT: Tell us about your project. What is the form and how did it come about?

SK: I have always been an avid reader of Manto. I had televised (adapted and
directed) some of his stories earlier, and I had performed him as a character on
stage. But this time around it was Shahid Mehmood Nadeem [of Ajoka Theater] who
pitched the idea to Asif Raza Mir and Babar Javed to make a tele-series on the life of
Manto, on the last five years of his life to be precise.

I was approached by the writer and producers to direct the serial, and it was just
fantastic and extremely exciting from the word 'go'. It's a fantastic script with
thorough research and some fictional margins, a journey that begins in 1951 when
Manto was "hospitalized" (in a mental asylum) to be cured for his alcoholism; and it
ends with his tragic death in 1955. We explore his family life, his interaction with
literary circles, the court trials, and his mental world which is inhabited by "Manto
and not Saadat Hassan". As we follow his life we also explore some of his short
stories and essays. - See more at:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20130712&page=16#st
hash.xkZq2HUu.dpuf

Once it was all shot and I had edited a full-fledged trailer for the TV channels, I
thought it looked cinematic in some odd way and I requested my producers to allow
me to cut a feature-length version later, once the entire serial has been telecast. It's
too soon to say if it's the greatest idea, but I thought a 110-120 minute long feature
film would be easier to take to festivals or easier to show people who don't have
regular access to TV. Geo Films then gave us a big fat hug and encouraged us to go
for a film version first and try out an experimental film (on an indie film's scale) with
the cinema-going audience and then release the TV version a few weeks later as an
extended version to the film. That was how Manto-the film and Mein-Manto-the TV-
serial came about. Right now both are works in progress.
SK: I think it's all about interpretation. I knew him through his writings only and they
are definitely reflective of his rebellion, his angst, anger, ferociousness towards
conformities and religion and society in general. He keeps saying that he is not
understood by many (or anyone). He has been played as a character very frequently
and extensively by veterans and thespians. And the "writer" aspect of his personality
is rather easy to play, I guess, although there too I found really interesting things
when I did my research on him by meeting people who knew him. And I found, with
no disrespect to other actors who have played him (or at least the ones I saw), that
he has been portrayed as just an angry and frustrated writer. His joy and pleasure in
the whole exercise of writing was generally not explored. And then the alcoholic
aspect has a lot of inherent drama so that too I find easy to portray. And I believe
that as an actor these are really meaty nuances and any actor would enjoy executing
them. The dialogues are strong and very expressive and his views are iconoclastic but
they have the weight that makes any dialogue worth memorizing and delivering with
passion. I hope I don't sound pretentious saying this: my prep work mainly included
reading as much of his work as possible. I re-read my favorite ones over and over
again. They made me a braver person... fearless is more like it... I didn't care about
the diction or the lines because I was so full of him that I had reached that comfort
and saturation with him "inside me".

There is one particular photograph of him staring at something at a distance from

the camera with his arms wrapped around his three daughters. I used to look at it for
minutes and minutes, if not hours. And that was the image I always thought of when
I felt I was lost as an actor.

It might sound strange but the toughest bits were when I played him as a father and
a husband in several scenes.
- See more at:
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hash.xkZq2HUu.dpuf
TFT: Manto was a notorious iconoclast: always breaking the rules and making fun of
sacred stuff. What was it like playing such a character? What aspects of his
personality did you find most challenging to portray? - See more at:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20130712&page=16#st
hash.xkZq2HUu.dpuf

The script does give clear hints about the emotion involved but I just couldn't
understand how he would have behaved in such moments. I met the family and
some of his friends (or people who knew him or had seen him in real life) precisely to
get ideas about that part of his personality. A husband who plucked his wife's
eyebrows himself, who cut and chopped vegetables like a master chef, who loved to
dress her up and take her photographs. A father who dotes on his daughters, can't
get over the sorrow of his son Arif's infantile death, prepares lunch boxes for them...
and respects women, of any and all kinds, in a way that prophets and saints are
known to have done... and yet writes 'Phaaha', 'Qeemay ke bijaye botiyan', 'Thanda
Gosht', 'Blouse', 'Mozelle', and hundreds of other stories with such graphic
descriptions that even a model liberalist like Faiz Ahmed Faiz is forced to say
something to the effect that "we wouldn't have minded if ['Thanda Gosht'] was not
written at all" when his opinion was sought about Manto's being a "vulgarist".

TFT: The trailer for your film shows the use of expressionist techniques. There is a
part where Manto seems to be interacting with his alter ego, who is a woman
(played by Nimra Bucha). What are you exploring there?

SK: Nimra Bucha's character, a kind of mad-woman, mysterious-woman and female

alter-ego of Manto, is - See more at:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20130712&page=16#st
hash.xkZq2HUu.dpuf

Shahid Nadeem's creation. He has taken hints from this autobiographical story 'Humzaad'
by Manto. She also depicts the creative and the private side of his personality. And I
thought it was not only exciting but very pertinent to have a woman as Manto's humzaad,
the ying-yang in him. She becomes the epitome of his mental world, the woman inside
Manto. She is the womb inside his mind. She is that capacity to be an incubator, the
mother who delivers children after prolonged and almost never-ceasing labour pains. She
is the one who pacifies him when he craves alcohol and he can't get it. She is the one who
gives him succor and courage to keep his head high during his never-ending trials. Hers is
the voice that asks: "Who is a better storyteller, Manto or God?"

Such characters are difficult to execute visually in a genre like a biopic. They can end up
looking funny or like ghosts. I used expressionism to depict this extremely impressionistic
character, and I think I could not have dreamt of a better actor than Nimra Bucha in that
role.

TFT: It is often said that Pakistani audiences are "not ready" for socially radical
narratives. How do you think they will deal with your portrayal of "sensitive" issues such
as the Partition, Manto's alcoholism, his constant fighting with the state and the ulema?

SK: With this project, I am being fearless and trying to live up to the spirit of Manto. I
mean if he didn't care about the reactions or responses that his writings elicited, we as the
makers of this project are not pushed or worried about how it fares with the standard TV
and cinema-watching audience. This isn't the kind of project that we expect TRPs with. It
will have its own audience. We have tried to be honest and loyal to the spirit of Manto. He
is not glorified or deified in any way. He is shown in a very human way: a great mind and
a tormented soul. He spoke the truth and refused to "dress up society as he was not a
tailor". And yet he also refused to give up his alcohol dependency. He was scarred by the
idea of partitioning people with religion and made prophetic and premonitory comments
about this divide becoming the ugliest aspect of society. Was he not right? He was. And I'd
say that if we could not get rid of him and his words in the last half-century, and if he
keeps echoing from various corners and recesses of our world, then there should not be a
problem with turning his written words into an audio-visual representation.
- See more at:
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20130712&page=16#sthas
h.xkZq2HUu.dpuf

2015 has been a phenomenal year for Pakistani

cinema, with new wave films such
as Shah, Moor and Karachi Se Lahore making it to the
grand stage. Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s Manto is
another avant-garde production, showcasing the
diverse social themes that Pakistani directors have
started to experiment with in recent times. Despite
having to pursue this multi-talented (and
understandably busy) individual for days via texts
and phone calls, Sarmad Khoosat made the chase
worthwhile for me. He had some fascinating stories to
share which ultimately led him to consider Manto as
a doable project.
Entering difficult territory by taking on Saadat Hasan Manto and going where no
man has gone before, the award-winning director and actor brought out a
fantastic cinematic production which was released on September 11th. In a
sensitive society like Pakistan, why did Khoosat decide to experiment with a
controversial figure such as Manto? How did he work his way through to, and
successfully execute this bold idea? Sarmad’s narrations about his passion
for Manto and his critically received works provide a definitive answer to these
mind-boggling questions.
Initially, Sarmad never wanted to work in showbiz, and instead was very serious
about pursuing a career in medicine. Due to personal and financial reasons,
though, that plan never worked out. However, having been born in a family of
professional actors and radio personalities, artistic talent and ingenuity were
things that came naturally to Sarmad. His perseverance and willingness to work
with daring and unconventional themes stemmed out of his early yearning for
honest interpretations and narrative styles. In his early years, Sarmad found the
perfect platform to relate such ideals in the form of Manto’s writings.
One fine day, while sifting through his father’s library, he came across Nimrud Ki
Khudai, one of Manto’s classic works. In a subtle yet heartfelt manner, Sarmad
explained how this was the beginning of his “obsession” with the literary genius,
and that this “cosmic connection” would blossom further, some years down the
line. While also drawing inspiration from legendary filmmakers such as Satyajit
Ray and studying other fashionable producers, Khoosat continued to satisfy his
desire to understand Manto’s life by frequently reading out his works to
audiences and also working on related short plays.
His fondness for freedom and fluidity in constructing genuine narrations can be
traced back to his 1990s sitcom Shashlik, one of his earliest contributions to
television. A number of other productions featured the same level of ingenuity
and dedication to experimentation, with the likes of Pani Jesa
Pyaar (2011), Humsafar (2011) and Shehr-e-Zaat (2012) receiving acclaim from
audiences as well as critics. In the period between Shashlik and Manto,
Sarmad’s writing style and thematic tastes expanded from sitcoms and
psychological dramas to romance, melodrama and mainstream television. He
expressed his preference for short stories over longer ones, explaining how they
provide more room to explore the underlying context of any particular narration.
This became highly relevant when Khoosat and screenwriter Shahid Nadeem
of Ajoka fame decided to adapt and transform the yet-to-be-aired TV
series Main Manto (2013) into an all-out cinematic production. This
transformative shift came about as a result of the similarities in “language,
syntax and grammar” between cinema and television, and also due to popular
demand amongst the ensemble cast who highlighted the production’s
cinematic elements.
- See more at: http://www.youlinmagazine.com/story/interview-with-sarmad-
khoosat-as-manto/NDM3#sthash.qjGOAElW.dpuf

The Manto project incorporates short stories from the last four
years of the writer’s life, while also underscoring the personal
troubles he faced. Manto is an ingenuous tale of a man who
dared to question the norm and speak truthfully about issues
that were taboo in society. Described by Khoosat as someone
who was “larger-than-life, angry, dying, tormented, anti-
establishment, and creative”, Manto reveals a story that is
interspersed with fantasies, addressing important themes of loss,
grief, jealousy, desperation and abandonment. Describing the
format of the film as “unusual and unprecedented”, Khoosat
stars in the lead role as Saadat Hasan Manto himself, together
with a star-studded cast that includes his close friends such as
Sania Saeed, Mahira Khan, Nadia Afgan and Saba Qamar. This
project quite evidently has a great deal of value for this
promising director, and would not have been possible without
“the limitless generosity and kindness of the cast members”, who
supported him through and through. Sarmad recognizes his
impulsive and in-the-moment personality, and attributes that to
his decision to continue working on the Main Manto TV serial in
the coming year.
Sarmad Khoosat’s career as a director can perhaps best be
described as a bumpy highway, ceaselessly advancing towards
a brighter future, despite the obstacles faced along the way in
the form of societal obligation and convention. With Manto, he
does justice to the literary legend by by showcasing the true
nature of his life. Khoosat does not try to hide his excitement at
the prospect of a new and transformed Pakistani film industry,
which has rejected the “old formula” and is now finding its way
amidst a mosaic of new and “fluid” directing techniques. A
model like Manto is sure to set a strong precedent for future films
to come out of this region.
- See more at: http://www.youlinmagazine.com/story/interview-
with-sarmad-khoosat-as-manto/NDM3#sthash.qjGOAElW.dpuf

Interview with Sarmad Sultan Khoosat,

Director, Humsafar and Manto you tube