Rating:
3.5/5
Star
Cast:
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui,
Javed
Akhtar,
Rasika
Dugal,
Ranvir
Shorey,
Tahir
Raj
Bhasin
Director:
Nandita
Das
Manto
Movie
Review:
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
|Nandita
Das|
FilmiBeat
'Mara
Nahin...Dekho
Abhi
Jaan
Baaki
Hain,
Rehne
Do
Yaar...Main
Thak
Gaya
Hoon',
as
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
breathes
life
into
Sadat
Hasan
Manto's
words
from
'Aaram
Ki
Zaroorat',
it's
sheer
poetry
on
screen.
Nandita
Das' directorial
'Manto'
gives
us
a
closer
glimpse
into
the
life
of
the
celebrated
Urdu
writer
who
found
solace
in
his
characters
and
stories
which
mirrored
the
reality
of
the
society.
The
film
opens
with
Manto's
short
story,
'Dus
Rupay
Ka
Note' before
bringing
us
face-to-face
with
the
man
himself.
Set
in
the
1940s,
we
meet
Manto
(Nawazuddin
Siddiqui)
as
the
voice
of
the
voiceless
who
translates
the
seething
anger
and
darkness
of
the
human
psyche
into
words
on
paper.
From
a
celebrated
writer
in
Bombay
to
his
frailing
version
who
hits
the
bottle
on
moving
to
Lahore
post-independence
when
he
finds
his
wings
of
'freedom
of
creative
expression'
clipped
with
his
writings
being
accused
of
'sensationalism.'
Manto
beautifully
weaves
together
the
author's
controversial
works
like
Dus
Rupay
Ka
Note',
'Khol
Do',
'Thanda
Gosht'
and
'Toba
Tek
Singh'
with
his
real-life
story.
We
also
get
a
sneak-peek
of
his
tyrst
with
Bombay
Talkies.
Not
to
forget,
his
striking
friendship
with
'40s
Hindi
cinema
actor
Shyam!
Manto
and
Shyam
were
chalk
and
cheese.
While
one
was
an
introverted
intellectual,
the
other
was
a
boisterous
charmer
who
wanted
to
make
it
to
the
big
screen.
Watch
out
for
the
scene
where
Manto
and
Shyam
coin
the
term
'hiptulla'.
\
Hours
before
Manto
takes
the
boat
to
Pakistan,
Shyam
and
he
raise
a
toast
to
'Hiptullah'.
This
is
followed
by
Shyam
yelling
Pakistan
Zindabad
and
Manto
Bharat
Zindabad.
A
tear-eyed
moment,
for
sure.
Nandita
Das
dives
deep
into
her
craft
and
blurs
the
line
between
fiction
and
non-fiction
in
her
story-telling
to
give
you
an
unbiased
account
of
Manto's
life.
Her
writing
has
dripping
sarcasm,
irony
and
black
humour.
On
the
flipside,
the
film
drags
a
bit
post
the
interval
and
loses
its
pace.
Coming
to
the
performances,
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
lends
gravitas
and
sinks
his
teeth
deep
into
his
role
to
give
you
a
memorable
performance.
Rasika
Dugal
as
Manto's
better-half
is
in
a
terrific
form
while
Tahir
Raj
Bhasin
looks
confident
in
every
frame.
Rajshri
Deshpande
as
Ismat
Chughtai
is
sharp
and
leaves
you
in
awe.
Actors
like
Rishi
Kapoor,
Javed
Akhtar,
Paresh
Rawal,
Gurdas
Mann,
Ranvir
Shorey,
Ila
Arun,
Divya
Dutta
lend
a
solid
impact
even
if
it's
just
resticted
to
cameos.
Bhanu
Uday
as
'Dadamoni' Ashok
Kumar
shows
spark.
Kartik
Vijay's
cinematography
is
authentic
to
the
period
in
which
the
film
is
based.
Sreekar
Prasad's
editing
works
in
sync.
Manto's
music
touches
your
soul.
To
quote
Manto,
"In
the
name
of
God,
the
Compassionate,
the
Merciful,
Here
lies
Saadat
Hasan
Manto
and
with
him
lie
buried
all
the
secrets
and
mysteries
of
the
art
of
short-story
writing,
Under
tons
of
earth
he
lies,
still
wondering
who
among
the
two
is
greater
short-story
writer:
God
or
He."
Years
passed
by,
but
the
question
stills
remains
unanswered.
I
am
going
with
3.5
stars.