In 2013 Nandita Das first discussed Manto with Nawazuddin Siddiqui on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Things came a full circle this year when the film was finally premiered there in the Un Certain Regard section. On his sixth visit to the festival Siddiqui had a few things to share about the making of Manto . On the eve of the release of the film in India excerpts from the conversation:
Nandita Das always wanted you to play Manto?
We were in Cannes in 2013 and met on the red carpet. I had three films that year— Monsoon Shootout, Lunchbox and Bombay Talkies . She was on the jury. She told me back then that she was thinking of a film on Manto. I had done Manto’s plays in National School of Drama and told her that I will 100% do it. That’s how it all started.
Which of Manto’s plays had you acted in?
I played one of the many mad men [in ‘Toba Tek Singh’]. That was when I read his stories. I didn’t know as much about Manto himself, his personal life, what kind of human being he was; I didn’t know all of that. But the research work that Nandita embarked on after 2013, she did a lot of detailing. The kind of person he was, how many cigarettes did he consume in a day, his drinking habits, his temper; if someone would criticise his story even mildly how upset he would get. Then there was the subtle sense of humour. She brought out as the characteristics of the man.
Apart from Nandita’s script, did you do your own reading as well?
One has to build one’s own score by going through the script many times. How is the man looking visually, what’s the way he’d be talking and conversing with others. He would be talking to you and there would be a story constantly moving in his mind. How to structure that story, it used to go in his mind in a very organised way even while he would be talking. He had that kind of a mind.
When I see mediocre work getting appreciated, becoming a hit, I feel a certain anguish
In your huge portfolio of roles, what is Manto’s significance?
In childhood we were told not to tell a lie. It used to be written all over our school walls. While growing up we realised that we have actually been lying continuously, we have built a world full of lies around us. We carefully build a good image for ourself but might be totally different within. Thankfully I am in a profession in which, before the camera, one ends up speaking the truth of the character one is playing. However much of a liar I might be [in real life] I get that opportunity to be truthful. Whatever Manto wrote was truthful. He wrote about whatever he saw. When I got the character the biggest challenge was that I’d have to be truthful. Only then would I have performed him well.
That was the only focus for me—what would make my performance look correct. One had to be totally naked and truthful.
Did you have to work on the diction as well?
I am already trained in diction but had to work on the rhythm. He had a certain rhythm, used to pronounce even the most difficult of words with an ease. I had to work on that. Some people’s chatter makes them irritating and then there are others we like listening to. It’s because they have a rhythm to their conversations, we like music because it has a rhythm.
Manto is very relevant to the present times. He is about Hindu-Muslim unity, freedom of expression…
One definitely feels it in the kind of atmosphere there is. There is a chance to speak about these through the character. Like even if you don’t speak publically [about issues] somewhere it will reflect in your writing.
The film has a strong connect for us because of the trauma of Partition. Do you think it has the strength to go wider?
It’s good for us if Nandita’s voice reaches out to as many as possible. That’s why she has made the film. Manto will always remain significant through his writing. Manto will never die.
The pain within Manto—do you also identify with it, feel it as an artiste?
When I see mediocre work getting appreciated, becoming a hit, I feel a certain anguish. These are impact-oriented films that make you have fun for a while but when you reach home you realise you have brought nothing back with you. Entertainment is important but there is more. We have become fixated with the idea of entertainment, defined it in a formula. I watched Ek Doctor Ki Maut and my life changed forever, I decided to become an actor. We live in extremes, either we have song and dance or in the name of good content we have boring films.
Were there any scenes in the film which moved you particularly, that challenged you as a performer?
When I [Manto] meet my friend, actor Shyam, on his visit to Pakistan. When I am observing him [noting that] my pal has become a star. It reminded me of my own struggler days, when I used to meet some of my own who had become stars. I used to wonder that this guy used to share the room with me, eat and drink with me. Or when Manto says that he will quit drinking. He is conscious but confused, on the verge of turning mad yet trying to stay real. Those small bits in the film I really liked.
Thackeray after Manto … How can one artiste play two such polar opposite characters?
I watched Manto for the first time today. I didn’t want to watch it because I am shooting for Thackeray. I have worked very hard for that role. It’s a bilingual, in Hindi and Marathi.
How do you reconcile two diametrically opposite ideologies they represent within yourself?
There are many things that you may not be; you may not necessarily be present yourself in the many characters you play but you will have to repose trust and faith in the character. Only then can you do justice with him. Usi mein mazaa hai (There’s fun in that). I have finished Manto within my system now. You have to finish and come to zero and then start on a new role. It’s [only] then that [the new role/character] enters your life and you get enveloped in it.
