Indian film Manto set for Cannes Film Festival journey

Actor-filmmaker Nandita Das' much-awaited directorial, Manto, which stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto, has made its way to the Un Certain Regard segment of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

The official line-up of the 71^st edition of the festival, to be held from May 8 to 19, was announced on the gala's website on Thursday. 

Manto, a biographical historical period drama film about the writer who is known for his writings about the partition of India and Pakistan, is the only Indian film in Un Certain Regard category of the festival. 

The film also features Tahir Raj Bhasin as Shyam Chaddha, who was Manto's friend, confidant, and inspiration for a number of stories. Rasika Dugal essays the role of Manto's wife Safia, while Rajshri Deshpande will play the part of author Ismat Chughtai. Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor too will be seen essaying a minor role in the film.

The background score of the film has been given by tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, while the music has been composed by Sneha Khanwalkar.

Cannes Film Festival will open this year with Asghar Farhadi's Spanish-language thriller Everybody Knows, starring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Ricardo Darin.

Among the films in the special screenings section are Gilles Porte's documentary The State Against Mandela and The Others, 10 Years in Thailand, and Wim Wenders's documentary Pope Francis - A Man of his Word.