Nawazuddin Siddiqui shares trailer of Nandita Das' Manto

The trailer of Nandita Das’ Manto, a biopic on Saadat Hasan Manto starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, was released today. The trailer opens with Nawazuddin, dressed in pristine whites, appealing to a courtroom, “Why not depict things as they are? My writings are a mirror for society to see itself.” In later scenes, we meet actor Rasika Dugal, who plays Manto’s wife Safia, and Tahir Raj Basin, as the 1940s superstar Shyam Chadda. Veteran actors Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal are also glimpsed in the trailer.

Sharing the trailer, Nawazuddin tweeted, "Bol ke lab azaad hai! This Independence Day let’s celebrate the freedom that Manto stood for.”

Saadat Hasan Manto was born 1912 in Paproudi village in the Ludhiana district of Punjab. For his poignant but controversial stories, Manto was tried several times by British India and later independent Pakistan, but never convicted. His most notable works include the Urdu short stories Toba Tek Singh, Thanda Ghost and Bu.

The extended cast of Manto features Feryna Wazheir (as Nargis Dutt), Javed Akhtar, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Ranvir Shorey, Rajshri Deshpande, Inaamulhaq, Divya Dutta, Ila Arun , Tillotama Shome, Shashank Arora and Gurdas Maan. The songs of Manto are composed by Sneha Khanwalkar while the background music is created by Zakir Hussain.

Manto was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it received positive reviews. Nandita Das had previously released a short film, titled In Defense of Freedom, as a tribute to Manto.

Co-produced by HP Studios, Filmstoc and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Manto is scheduled for release on September 21.