Screening of Zinda Laash (1967) at Asia Society New York
by Khajistan Cultural Desk
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Asia Society New York, in collaboration with Khajistan, presents a screening of Zinda Laash (1967) (The Living Corpse). The event will feature objects and books from the Khajistan Archive, including the film’s original poster and the censor certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Censors, Pakistan.
"Zinda Laash (1967) was the first horror film produced in Pakistan. If the government had had its way, it would also have been the last. This remake of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel was deemed “corruptive and evil” and pulled from screens after just one week. Its makers, unable to cry hypocrisy, politely pointed out that an imported version of Dracula had been screened in the country’s cinemas without mass depravity ensuing.
A compromise was reached — the film could be shown, but only with an X rating. With nods to Terence Fisher’s 1958 Hammer version of Dracula and Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho soundtrack, Zinda Laash remains a striking work of art-horror that, with its razzy outfits, lubricious dancing, and perverse sexuality, pre-echoes The Wicker Man. No wonder a female viewer in Gujranwala was said to have died of a heart attack." — S.S. Sandhu
Tickets: Available here
Date & Time: Friday, October 31, 2025, 6:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Venue: Asia Society Museum, New York
Format: Urdu with English subtitles; post-screening conversation featuring S.S. Sandhu and Kartik Nair
