Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui unveils the first teaser of much-awaited drama based on famous Indo-Pakistani poet Saadat Hasan Manto.
The actor Nawaz shared the Teaser on his social media account. He wrote, “First day in #FestivalDeCannes with the much awaited #MantoTeaser #CannesWithManto”
Manto the film follows the most tumultuous four years in the life of Manto and that of the two countries he inhabits – India and Pakistan. In Bombay’s seedy-shiny film world, Manto and his stories are widely read and accepted. But as sectarian violence engulfs the nation, Manto makes the difficult choice of leaving his beloved Bombay.
In Lahore, he finds himself bereft of friends and unable to find takers for his writings. His increasing alcoholism leads him into a downward spiral. Through all of this, he continues to write prolifically, without dilution. This is the tale of two emerging nations, two faltering cities, and one man who tries to make sense of it all.
His short stories set during the devastating partition of the Indian subcontinent were his defining works. These irreverent, unflinching but deeply humane stories, earned him the wrath of the colonial British government and later of independent Pakistan.
The stories were deemed obscene by the courts and he spent his last years fighting legal battles to defend his right to write. Today, his work is seen by both scholars and the reading public as one of the most authentic and independent accounts of the human tragedy of those years.
Manto is written and directed by Nandita Das. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Rasika Dugal, Feryna Wazheir, Rajshri Deshpande and Purab Kohli.
