Actress-filmmaker
Nandita
Das
presumed
that
there
will
be
"young
charming
actors" in
abundance
to
play
Saadat
Hasan
Manto's
closest
friend
and
charismatic
actor
Shyam
in
her
ambitious
movie
Manto,
but
she
says
"all
stars"
whom
she
approached
said
'no'
for
the
fear
of
looking
like
a
second
lead.
The
talented
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
plays
the
title
role
of
Manto,
one
of
the
best
known
South
Asian
short
story
writers.
"Intriguingly,
all
the
'stars'
I
approached
said
'no'
without
even
reading
the
script
or
asking
any
questions," Nandita
posted
on
Twitter
with
a
link
to
a
detailed
column
piece
she
has
penned
for
theweek.in.
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Titled
"No
Shyam
in
sight",
the
column
describes
the
woes
Nandita
has
faced
in
casting
for
the
character
of
Shyam,
and
how
she
has
more
clarity
about
"the
connection
between
the
roles
they
(the
actors)
choose
and
the
perception
of
their
'worth
in
the
market'
".
"Between
finding
less
conservative
producers
and
relentless
location
scouting,
there
was
one
problem
that
I
hadn't
quite
anticipated
--
the
casting
for
the
charismatic
actor
and
Manto's
closest
friend,
Shyam," Nandita
has
written.
She
adds,
"Naively,
I
thought
that
known
young
charming
actors,
wanting
to
play
the
layered
character
of
Shyam,
would
be
in
abundance.
Intriguingly,
all
the
'stars'
I
approached,
said
no
without
even
reading
the
script
or
asking
any
questions
about
the
role
that
was
being
offered."
"Their
sole
reason
for
declining
was
that
Shyam
would
be
seen
as
the
'second
lead'.
As
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui,
an
accomplished
actor,
is
playing
Manto,
I
want
to
ensure
that
Shyam
is
no
less."
Her
inference
from
the
experience
has
been
that
"the
road
to
stardom
is
to
play
the
lead,
have
the
girl
and
be
heroic
in
the
climax".
"I
thought
I
could
work
around
this
by
offering
a
credit
of
'special
appearance'
or
'many
thanks
to'
kind
of
status,
elevating
it
from
what
they
call
a
second
lead.
But
to
no
avail," Nandita
said.
"For
me,
the
excitement
has
always
been
about
being
part
of
stories
that
must
be
told
and
the
promise
of
them
being
well-told.
Guess
I
can
only
think
like
myself,"
she
added.
Filmmaker
Hansal
Mehta,
upon
reading
the
column,
tweeted:
"I'm
almost
relieved
that
I'm
not
making
the
Manto
film
I'd
set
out
to
make.
Nobody
wanted
to
play
Manto.
Nobody
wanted
to
produce
it."
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inputs
from
IANS