Sarmad Sultan Khoosat (, born May 7, 1979) is a Pakistani actor, film/TV director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the super-hit TV dramas Humsafar and Shehr-e-Zaat. He is considered to be one of the best South Asian filmmakers with his film Zindagi Tamasha being selected as Pakistan's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film also premiered at the 24th Busan International Film Festival under the section 'A Window on Asian Cinema'. He also portrayed the role of Saadat Hasan Manto in his film Manto. Family He is the son of veteran TV and film actor, producer and comedian Irfan Khoosat, while his sister Kanwal Khoosat is also a director, screenwriter and actress. Early life and career Academically, he graduated from Government College University (Lahore) and earned a master's degree in Psychology and a gold medal. He also was a member of the Debating Society of GCU. He rose to prominence during the late 1990s, when he created the sitcom Shashlik which ran for over three years on PTV. Sarmad directed the series of Tele-films for Geo Tv "TAMASHA GHAR" in 2003 with the screenwriter Saji Gul which was based on themes dealing with subconscious desires and fears (inspired by Freudian school of psychology). His first television drama as a director was Piya Naam Ka Diya in 2007, in which he acted opposite filmstar Saima Noor and Erum Akhtar. Sarmad then served as executive director for a soap serial named Mujhe Apna Naam-o-Nishan Milay, directed by his sister Kanwal Khoosat. Khoosat's TV drama, Kalmoohi that he wrote and directed, began airing on PTV in early 2010, also got good reviews. In 2011, he gained significant prominence and acclaim with the TV drama Pani Jaisa Piyar that aired on Hum TV. It won him the best director award for it on LUX Style Awards. He directed Jal Pari, which was aired on Geo TV. He went on to direct Humsafar for Hum TV, which became an overnight success. His serial Shehr-e-Zaat was especially popular with women. He conducted a workshop at the Lahore University of Management Sciences's annual amateur film festival in June 2011. Khoosat directed episodes for Faseele Jaan Se Aagay and Ashk. He also directed the remake of the original Pakistani film, Aina, as a telefilm. In 2015, he completed shooting Mein Manto. In October 2018, he delivered a 24-hour-long live