The film that was supposed to be Sarmad Khoosat’s big directorial debut in 2020 was faced with many controversies even before its trailer was released back in January 2020. A couple of short weeks before its release religious groups objected to the release. The film cast and crew, including Khoosat, received death threats oven the subject revolving around a religious cleric. Social media erupted in a debate over freedom of art and expression but finally, after a battle lasting months, the film was cleared and not only that, the film also achieved quite a lot of recognition after winning the Kim Ji Seok Award at Busan International Film Festival. It was also Pakistan’s official submission for Oscars in 2021. Now, Zindagi Tamasha has won two awards at the 6th Annual Asian World Film Festival. Actor Arif Hassan who essayed the lead role of Rahat Khawaja in the movie bagged the Snow Leopard Award for Best Actor and Sarmad also received Leopard Award for Best Film.