Saadat Hasan Manto, one of Urdu literature’s most prolific writers, had produced 22 collections of short stories, a novel, five series of radio plays, three collections of essays and two collections of personal sketches in his lifetime. The biopic which celebrates is life and work, Manto , which is due to hit the theatres soon captures the writer’s life and his lifelong affair with words.
The event, held in Hyderabad by the movie’s director Nandita Das and the lead actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui to promote it ahead of its release, saw interesting conversations, insights and banter between the duo. The event kicked off with a performance of one of the seminal works of the author, Sadak Ke Kinare , which is a take on women’s rights and the way society tries to muzzle their voices.
Performing ‘Sadak Ke Kinare’
Soon afterwards, the director-actor duo extrapolated on their collaboration with Nandita disclosing that she first thought of making a movie on Manto in 2012. “People ask me where I have gone all these years! I haven’t been anywhere — I headlined an International film festival, directed a play Between the lines , brought up my son and wrote a column for a weekly national magazine. I think I didn’t set out to choose to make this film; the script found me and everything moved instinctively.”
Nawazuddin recalled his own tryst with the author which began more than two decades ago. “I played a small part in a play which was adapted by Manto’s work in 1993. I have read a couple of stories but my earnest journey began after Nandita outlined his work in 2012.” He added that he didn’t have one single favourite work as many of his writings are relatable and enjoyable.
Nandita admitted that condensing the writer’s work into a two-hour movie was challenging, especially given that Manto led such a vibrant life. “His work is a commentary on the hypocrisy of society. I met his family and friends and tried to understand his relationship. Those familiar with his work will understand him better and I have interwoven five of his stories into the narrative. Writing the screenplay was a major challenge especially because I had a lot of information with me and when you are making a movie, most of it seems important.”
She added that it was challenging to trace his life because a lot of his recordings were missing. “There were no video recordings and he even played a role in an Ashok Kumar movie, which got burnt in a fire at Filmistan studio in Mumbai. Apart from these issues, we had to show different sides of his personality and not put him on a pedestal. He was a great writer yes, but as a person he was arrogant, sensitive, gentle yet liable to an angry outburst at time, so it was a challenge.”
Being a multifaceted actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui remarked that he interpreted Manto based on his own understanding and took his director’s help at times. “He was like anyone else. He connected with a lot of people, because his characters were everyday people. A lot of people find it difficult to understand themselves, but if they do, then understanding the genius of Manto is easy.”
