Cannes 2018: Nandita Das' directorial Manto, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui premieres at French Riviera

Saadat Hasan Manto's biopic, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and directed by Nandita Das was premiered at Cannes Film Festival. The much awaited film was praised by the audience and people congratulated the entire team behind the biopic.

Saadat Hasan Manto was a creative writer who faced trial for obscenity several times in India and Pakistan. In 1947, he faced trials three times in Pakistan for ‘KholDo,’ ‘Thanda Gosht,’ and ‘Upar Neeche Darmiyaan’ under section 292 of the Indian Penal Code and the Pakistan Penal Code

Nandita Das's directorial Manto, is official selection of the 71st Cannes Film Festival was premiered today in a packed Salle Debussy. Around Twenty-three members of the cast and production team took the stage. Festival’s general delegate Thierry Fremaux introduced the director and cast of the movie.

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“It’s India,” Das quipped. “Yes, it’s India,” Thierry said in response. “Manto is set in the 1940s and 1950s, but it is about what is happening (on the subcontinent) today,” the director said.

“Cannes is like home, and it is great to have my second film premiere here,” she said. Among the audience, a noted painter Jatin Das was present said, “My films are rooted in a milieu but I do not seek to explain everything. If you are true to the emotions you are dealing with, a film connects instantly with the audience.”

“People across the world are fearful of all the unsettling developments around them. That is why Manto’s writings are as relevant today as they were back in his time,” Das said.

Nandita said, “Initially, the script spanned a ten-year period from 1942 to 1952. In the film, that has eventually been whittled down to four years."

“I do films as a means to an end. It is better to get your point across through the means of a film rather than engage with trolls on social media and in the real world,” she said.

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