Rasti Farooq is a Pakistani actor, writer, and producer. In 2022, she came into the limelight after she appeared in the Pakistani feature film Joyland in which she played the role of Mumtaz.Fascinated by acting since childhood, Rasti often participated in various cultural functions at her school. In an interview, Rasti talked about this and said, I remember being very young, I always wanted to be on stage. I used to participate into debates and skits at school. Most people would get very nervous on stage but I loved it. Then I focused on my studies because I thought acting is a career (laughs). But I loved stage so I did theater in Lahore as well and I met Saim Sadiq. He was making a short film when we were in college and I did that. I got to know more directors and filmmakers like Tabish Habib and Kanwal Khoosat, and I was doing more short films and cine-plays until Joyland came along.” [3]Something Haute.In 2019, Rasti Farooq co-founded Puffball Studios, an animation and music studio in Lahore. [4]Rasti Farooq – Instagram.Rasti Farooq started her acting career as a theatre artist. She has performed in various theatrical productions like Stand Alone (2019), Blood Brothers (2019), and Both Sit in Silence for A While (2022). Ian Eldred as Mickey (left), Abdullah Ghazanfar as Eddie (centre), and Rasti Farooq as Linda (right).While pursuing her graduation, Rasti Farooq made her short film debut opposite Saim Sadiq. Subsequently, she appeared in various Pakistani short films like The Letters of Mikael Muhammad (2019), Swipe (2020), City of Smiles (2020), and May I have this Seat (2021). In an interview, Saim Sadiq, who worked with Rasti Farooq in one of his short films, talked about Rasti and said, I knew Rasti, we both went to LUMS, she was my junior, we did a little short film together because I wanted to apply for my grad school at Columbia. And then we’ve been in touch on and off. I enjoyed working with her then and she did another short film with Tabish which I also saw, and I thought it was lovely. Rasti was the first person I sent script to, and she was the last person to be casted. I sent her the script when I had no money.” Rasti Farooq (left) in a still from the Pakistani short film The Letters of Mikael Muhammad (2019).Saim Sadiq’s film Joyland, starring Rasti Farooq, made its world premiere on 23 May 2022 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was shortlisted under the category of Un Certain Regard to compete for the Caméra d’Or award. The Lollywood film also received a standing ovation after its screening at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival. There, the film received Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and the Queer Palm Award. The critically acclaimed film Joyland went on to win multiple awards at various film festivals like Honourable Mention at the London Film Festival, the Young Cinema Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), and the Golden Pram Award for the Best Feature Film at the Zagreb Film Festival. The film also won the Best Film From The Subcontinent category at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. From left, Joyland’s director Saim Sadiq, producer Apoorva Charan, Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani, Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Sania Saeed, and Sana Jafri; picture from 75th annual Cannes Film Festival.On 8 September 2022, Joyland was showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) under the Special Presentations category.Joyland was slated to be released in Pakistan on 18 November 2022; however, on 11 November 2022, the film was banned by the Pakistan Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, even after receiving an “Adult” certification from the Federal and Provincial censor boards. The film was banned by the government after a politician from a religious political party filed a complaint to the Ministry. On 11 November 2022, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a notification about the film that read, Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of ‘decency and morality’ as laid down in the Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979,” the order states. “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 9(2) (a) of the said Ordinance and after conducting a comprehensive inquiry, the Federal Government declares the feature film titled ‘Joyland’ as an uncertified film for the whole of Pakistan in the cinemas which fall under the jurisdiction of CBFC with immediate effect.” On 16 December 2022, after Saim Sadiq called the Pakistan Ministry’s order unconstitutional and started a movement on social media seeking the release of the film, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting lifted the ban on the film. The film was released in Pakistan on 18 November 2022 after some erotic scenes were removed from it.