Manto the film follows the most tumultuous four years in the life of Manto and that of the two countries he inhabits – India and Pakistan. In Bombay’s seedy-shiny film world, Manto and his stories are widely read and accepted. But as sectarian violence engulfs the nation, Manto makes the difficult choice of leaving his beloved Bombay. In Lahore, he finds himself bereft of friends and unable to find takers for his writings. His increasing alcoholism leads him into a downward spiral. Through all of this, he continues to write prolifically, without dilution. This is the tale of two emerging nations, two faltering cities, and one man who tries to make sense of it all.
Cast
Saadat Hasan Manto – Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Safia – Rasika Dugal
Shyam – Tahir Bhasin
Abid Ali Abid – Javed Akhtar
Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi – Chandan Roy Sanyal
Bishan Singh – Vinod Nagpal
Film Producer – Rishi Kapoor
Hamid – Inammulhaq
Ishar Singh – Ranvir Shorey
Ismat Chughtai – Rajashri Deshpande
Jaddanbai – Ila Arun
Kulwant Kaur – Divya Dutta
Pimp – Paresh Rawal
Prostitute – Tillotama Shome
Shaad Amritsari – Shashank Arora
Sirajuddin – GurdasMaan
Crew
Producer – Vikrant Batra (HP Studios); Ajit Andhare (Viacom 18); Namrata Goyal (Filmstoc); Nandita Das (Nandita Das Initiatives)
Co-Producer – Sandrine Brauer and Marie Masmonteil (En Compagnie Des Lamas); Magic If Films
Director – Nandita Das
Writer – Nandita Das
Script Consultant – Mir Ali Hussain, SaadiaToor
Director of Photography – Kartik Vijay
Editor – Sreekar Prasad
Production Designer – Rita Ghosh
Costume Designer – Sheetal Iqbal Sharma
Sound Designer – Resul Pookutty
Background Score – Zakir Hussain
Music – Sneha Khanwalkar
Hair and Make up – Shrikant Desai
VFX – Prana Studios