Known for her extraordinary acting skills, Nandita Das proves to be one of the most talented actors India has ever produced. The prima donna has appeared in more than 40 feature films in ten different languages, has traveled for 50 international film festivals, garnering as many as 20 prestigious accolades across the world. The jury member of the honorable Cannes Film Festival of 2015, has now opted to thrive her career in movie direction, choosing the story of a well-celebrated author of Indo-Pak, Sadat Hasan Manto.
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Manto’s short stories set during the partition of United India. Albeit being unflinching and irrelevant in the beginning, these stories have had turned out to be excessively humane that got him the wrath of the British government. He has had spent his last years in courts, fighting for his right to freedom of writing, for his stories were declared obscene by the courts. Today, his work is seen as the most genuine and authentic piece of work delineating the human tragedy of those years, by most scholars other constituents of the reading community.
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“I always had Nawaz in mind while writing Manto. He has many traits that are similar to Manto – a deep sensitivity and intensity, anger, and a dry sense of humour. These innate qualities in Nawaz helped him transition into Manto on screen quite effortlessly,” Nandita has said in a statement, telling the reason she has chosen Nawaz as the author.
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In an era where the celebrities are making it to the list of the wealthiest people on earth, the extensively talented, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has asked for just a single Indian Rupee as the fee for becoming the protagonist in Manto. Nandita says, “This is a character that an actor would give an arm or leg for. But not to charge even a nominal fee is very gracious of Nawaz.”
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Besides Nawazuddin Siddiqui, a few other distinguished actors have agreed to play the small parts of their roles, solely to support the flick. “Rishi Kapoor and Gurdas Maan said yes in our first meeting. I also reached out to many whom I knew well and have used up all my goodwill to get a stellar case that truly does justice to the characters in the film.” Says Nandita in an interview with Indian media. She goes on to say, “While many have done cameo roles, they all bring their talent and credibility to the characters.”
Having the veteran actor Paresh Rawal in the ensemble cast, the visual treat called, Manto is all set to release on the 21st of September.
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