Movie Review: Manto

Producers- Nandita Das, Ajit Andhare, Namrata Goyal and  Vikrant Batra

Director-Nandita Das

Star Cast- Nawazuddin Siddiuque, Rasika Duggal, Rishi Kapoor, Javed Akhtar

Genre- Biopic

Rating- ***

Riveting but slow!

By- Jyiothi Venkatesh

Nandita brings out the best storyline, screenplay as well as performances from each of her actors, particularly Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the titular role with exceptional aplomb and grace, with Rasika Duggal also gives her best to her role as Safia, Manto’s wife. Nandita Das, the director succeeds in allowing the audience to peep into the private life of the author who lives in Lahore but has his heart belonging to Mumbai.

While Nawazuddin Siddiqui is outstanding, Tahir Raj Bhasin as Manto's close friend, the late actor Shyam delivers a strong performance and leaves an indelible impact. In cameos, Divya Dutta as one of the characters of Manto's short stories, Rishi Kapoor as a Parsi producer, Javed Akhtar and Gurdaas Maan leave behind power-packed performances.

Nandita had earlier directed the film Firaaq, which was set in the aftermath of the Gujarat killings of 2002, which took an unflinching look at how religious extremism can damage us from within. Nandita Das succeeds in presenting her poignant and hard-hitting biopic about the controversial, Indo-Pakistani, Urdu short-story writer Sadat Hassan Manto.

It is strictly not a biopic of Manto in the true sense of the term but vignettes from his life and works, which reveal his state of mind at perilous times and his addiction to alcohol which brutally cost him his life at just 42. Her tribute to Manto sets out to present the celebrated writer with all his failings and greatness, with great honesty, though at times the screenplay starts wavering and makes you feel that the film is too slow for your liking.

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