I don't clearly remember when did I first read Manto, but I read his few of sideline stories during my college days. Instantly and intuitively I was curious about Manto. Thanks to Nandita Das for bringing Manto to a beautiful cinematographic experience. I watched it yesterday and I am quite swayed by the movie.
Who was Manto : He was born on 11 May, 1912 in India and he died at the young age of 42 in Lahore (Pakistan). Manto is one of the best unrivaled fierce storytellers of our times who is famous for his portrayal of India-Pakistan partition and his empathy for characters who are on periphery of our society.
The movie- Manto : Manto is written and directed by Nandita Das and includes one of the finest actors of our times, Nawazuddin Siddiqui . Other supporting actors also have done their best to bring central character's dilemmas and doldrums onto screen. Unfortunately, we do not have tradition to celebrate a writer's life or writing into the mainstream cinema. Manto definitely adds a lot to this line. The way Manto's writings (his best stories) are entwined with his own life is mind blowing act of script-writing and cinematography. Watching this movie , you swing between reading and watching. The witty dialogues and their deeper meanings leave you astonished. There, you feel like watching this movie again and again.
The movie begins with Bombay and Manto's well-settled life. His connections with actor Shyam Chaddha, Ashok Kumar, Ismat Chugtai are well-shown. As soon as India is divided into India and Pakistan, horror begins to loom over the simple lives of common man. Every man keeps their eyes at, whether the next man is a Hindu or Muslim. Manto keeps both hindu and Muslim topi to save himself at any conflict. His fear does not escape his personality. Manto finds this transition from India to Pakistan very foolish. He discards this idea to move to Lahore each time. But at the end, he moves to Pakistan. He was afraid to be possessed by this bloody game of religions. He never wanted to die as a tragedy. In his life, he had been prosecuted six times for obscenity in his short stories. While he says, he only portrays what he sees and what he knows.
The movie gives you goosebumps many times. A must watch for every literature and movie-lover.
And for those too, who wants to know how a story is written.
Who was Manto : He was born on 11 May, 1912 in India and he died at the young age of 42 in Lahore (Pakistan). Manto is one of the best unrivaled fierce storytellers of our times who is famous for his portrayal of India-Pakistan partition and his empathy for characters who are on periphery of our society.
The movie- Manto : Manto is written and directed by Nandita Das and includes one of the finest actors of our times, Nawazuddin Siddiqui . Other supporting actors also have done their best to bring central character's dilemmas and doldrums onto screen. Unfortunately, we do not have tradition to celebrate a writer's life or writing into the mainstream cinema. Manto definitely adds a lot to this line. The way Manto's writings (his best stories) are entwined with his own life is mind blowing act of script-writing and cinematography. Watching this movie , you swing between reading and watching. The witty dialogues and their deeper meanings leave you astonished. There, you feel like watching this movie again and again.
The movie begins with Bombay and Manto's well-settled life. His connections with actor Shyam Chaddha, Ashok Kumar, Ismat Chugtai are well-shown. As soon as India is divided into India and Pakistan, horror begins to loom over the simple lives of common man. Every man keeps their eyes at, whether the next man is a Hindu or Muslim. Manto keeps both hindu and Muslim topi to save himself at any conflict. His fear does not escape his personality. Manto finds this transition from India to Pakistan very foolish. He discards this idea to move to Lahore each time. But at the end, he moves to Pakistan. He was afraid to be possessed by this bloody game of religions. He never wanted to die as a tragedy. In his life, he had been prosecuted six times for obscenity in his short stories. While he says, he only portrays what he sees and what he knows.
The movie gives you goosebumps many times. A must watch for every literature and movie-lover.
And for those too, who wants to know how a story is written.
