Manto, the film (2018) - reflections
When I was about eight, we lived in a by-lane of an erstwhile fisher's colony, Machua Toli, of Patna. My parents had to move away from the joint family we lived in there. Irreconcilable differences, you'd say in today's parlance. There were tears, seethed in anger, streaming in vulnerability that parted an address of intimacy into torn realities. That was my first sense of partition.
I missed my playmates, two sons of a rickshaw puller and a housemaid, and the courtyard in that otherwise dark home where I rode my tricycle and intimidate my aunts of riding over. In our new, rented home, we lived with the strangers, with a veranda and a toilet shared with the other tenants.
Soon, I learnt to play in a no man's land next to our rooms, all alone, and made up three imaginary playmates, Rakhi, Sukhi and Bhutkarua. I am amused to realise that after about five decades, I still remember those names exactly. Maybe, because they gave me company for three years, during the noons after my morning school when my mother would be tired and asleep, during the evenings my father would be working late and I would wait for him after finishing my homework.
Those were my first fictional characters, protagonists or hero's friends in many roleplays I told myself, modelled after the kids I had to leave behind in that by-lane of Muchua Toli.
Manto lived a partition as well, much real, bloody and unnecessary than mine. He was as helpless as I was. He realised that the people closest to him were drifting away just because he belonged to the 'other people'. The eyes of Nawaz, playing the role, reflected my torment, looking at Bombay for one last time and then, at the ship signalling to set sail for Lahore.
Fortunate would be the literary readers that Manto was not eight at that time. Doomed was he that he was not eight while crossing the line. He was destined to carry the cross that forever split his being into two nations and uncountable characters wedded to his fiction. He was a rebel, or so it would seem. His nightmares, tears behind the door of a prison, anxious observation of a spider climbing up the rods and failing, then trying again, and dropping down were only for Safia to see.
Safia, his friend and wife, the mortar that kept him together, was always with Manto through those human moments. She loved the animal Manto for whom the civil norms of the timid never made sense. She cared for the messiah whose only religion was truth.
She knew how Manto went in and out of his stories, aimless, easy but always honest. Nandita has captured these transitions the way Manto would have felt himself. Rasika as Safia breaks down on two occasions, gets angry on one but never ceases to love, and live, Sa'saab.
Flashes of potent geniuses pass before you during the 112 minutes of the film, Paresh Rawal, Javed Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Vinod Nagpal... they pass like the stations that Manto might have crossed during his train rides between Lahore, Amritsar and Mumbai. That was before he got scared, before he ran away, before he felt as vulnerable as the millions who ran and were not blessed to live and bleed their shame and fear on blank pages.
Manto joined the exodus for his own sake, for the sake of his family that he adored. He couldn't afford to stay put. Robbed of the land where his parents and the firstborn were buried, Manto could never forgive the senile political class and a bankrupt, rushed imperial power. The people he saw vanquished, and killed, and raped, and sold around, pleaded with him to write about them. He obliged them, much as his sober psyche could take.
Manto's potent words and characters ate up Nandita, Nawaz and a host of brilliant technical experts (sound, cinematography and art direction, three cheers!). The film couldn't rise over the writer. The past of Lahore of 1948 is such high definition, that sitting in the chilled auditorium (eighteen people watched the second show, I counted) in Bangalore of 2018, I could smile, laugh and be angry with Manto. Such is the permanence of Manto's works that the artistes making the cinema disappeared into an ephemeral mist. It didn't matter that the celluloid version could become a reality after six anxious years of wait and passionate hard work.
His signature shone. From right to left, alive in the audacity of a pencil that preserved the Sheaffers and Parkers he never needed to use, in the letters that could make pearls feel humble, it read 'Saadat Hasan Manto'.
Insaniyat zindabad. Afsana nigari zindabad.
Add a Review
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tapanmozumdar21 September 2018
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Jini-B23 August 2019I love period films for the way it transports one to a different time, a different world altogether. This movie takes it one step further. It transports you into Manto's stories, as if you are a spectator living inside his short stories. I found the story-telling to be extremely effective. Manto's stories are highlighted really well in this movie. The parallel story-telling of his own life story and his work was a very innovative way of putting forward a biographical tale of a writer.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as usual, is fantastic in his role. The supporting cast, led by Rasika Duggal are also great in their respective roles. The friendship between Manto and Shyam (Tahir Raj Bhasin) was very convincing. The stories revolving around the Partition of India, and how it affected so many people at the time was absolutely heart-wrenching. The way this story was told was both educational and incredible. A great film. -
My Rating : 8/10
'Manto' as a film transports you to a different world completely. It gives you a sense of the zeitgest of a 1940's recently-partitioned India and Pakistan and the strong religious sentiments of the people at the time. Saadat Hasan Manto was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author and someone who through his writings wanted to give a different perspective.
Nandita Das' direction reminds me of the likes of Guru Dutt and Satyajit Ray. 'Manto' is exquisite, poetic and an intimate character study.
Upar di gur gur di annexe di bedhiyana di moong di daal of di Pakistan and Hindustan of di...Manto.
Brilliant. -
binducherungath23 September 2018Manto, a film by Nandita Das, is a biopic on the Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto. Manto lived during 1912-1955. This film depicts his life especially during pre and post-independence days and partition time seamlessly interspersed with five of his most famous and poignant short stories: Dus Rupay, 100-Watt Bulb, Khol Do, Thanda Gosht and Toba Tek Singh. The film narrates his life through these stories. Manto was known to write unpleasant truths of our society, which people generally did not prefer to write or talk about. And his writings made him a controversial writer too. Manto is best known for his stories of partition days which very genuinely covers what people went through those days. Nandita's attempts need applause for the way she has depicted the various events, its contexts in Manto's life through his works. Manto was an unapologetic writer and he used to pour his experiences, views in his writings. He had to even face court trials in lieu of the obscenity in his literary works, was accused of writing materials not worth of set benchmark of literature. But Manto believed in what he wrote since his writings mirrored the society. He even wrote about prostitutes, pimps, subversive sexual slavery of women etc. The film Manto begins in Bombay pre-independence and continues to his life in Lahore when he and his family shifted to Pakistan post-independence. The film recreates the old Bombay and Lahore. Kartik Vijay's cinematography justifies the feel and era of the film. It is painful to watch the film since it covers the reality. The tragedy is that things have not changed much even after seven decades of freedom. Manto's stories reflect lot of happenings of our today's society too. Certainly, the feel after watching Manto is that it could have had more depth and coverage of his life, but one would feel the pain, turmoil, the transformations of Manto and his growing sense of isolation during the most definitive period of his life. When Manto in the film feels the pain of leaving Bombay and misses everything he had in India, viewers are bound to feel the same pain and agony. The film not only narrates about Manto in his biopic but through Manto and his stories, it shows the glimpse of the trauma India and Pakistan went through post partition. Even though this biopic leaves one with the feeling of wanting more, but it certainly needs to be watched. Manto begins with a scene from his story Dus Rupay, where we see a young girl apply makeup before she leaves to be with her clients. Then we see Manto in Bombay, confronting a film producer (Rishi Kapoor) to pay him his dues for the script he wrote. Manto is also seen commenting on Ismat Chughtai's (Rajashri Deshpandey) writing. Manto is shown to have sharp tongue where he does not refrain from mocking at his best friend and upcoming actor Shyam Chaddha's smoking cheap cigarattes. Days change, India gets independence but Hindus and Muslims are ripped apart. Manto had to choose to migrate to Pakistan along with his wife Safia (rasika Duggal) and daughters. His life changes in Lahore. He misses everything about Bombay, his friends and his life over there. Manto struggles to come to terms with his new reality at Lahore, he does become addicted to alcohol. The film takes Manto's story and struggles ahead through his own other stories. Parts of each of the story is filmed with independent set of actors projecting the story of real Manto and his challenges. Manto is shown to be a man who lived for writing. In a court scene, where Faiz Ahmed Faiz defended Manto when he was charged of obscene writing but commented about the standard of his writing not at par with literature, Manto was bothered with the later more. Certain dialogues in the film are very hard-hitting. One of the dialogue when he is asked by his wife Safia that why he carries variety of caps (Hindu Topi, Muslim Topi etc.) he says: Jab mazhab ki baat dil se nikalkar sar par chadh jaye to alag alag topi pahanni padti hai. Nawazuddin Siddiqui excels in the titular character. He brilliantly embodies Manto's character and brings life to the same on screen. Rasika has given a great performance as Safia. Rest of the characters played by Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shashank, Rajashri Deshpandey had less screen time, but definitely good. Rishi Kapoor, Ranvir Shory, Divya Dutta, Javed Akhtar, Vinod Nagpal, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Ila Arun, Paresh Rawal, Tilotama Shome, Gurdas Mann, Bhanu Uday are also seen in the film. The music of the film is composed by Sneha Khanwalkar and Raftaar. The music strikes the right chord with the heart. The much famous lyrics of Faiz Ahmed Faiz - "Bol Ke Lab Azaad Hain" is beautifully sung by Vidhya Shah and Rashid Khan. Nagri Nagri is in the voice of Shankar Mahadevan. The lyrics of other songs are being penned by Dibakar Banerjee, Seemab Akbarbandi, Meeraji and Saadat Hasan Manto.
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ihx-4788721 September 2018Armed with strong acting skills of Nawaz and other talented actors like Rasika Duggal and Divya Dutta, Manto is a masterpiece that tells the present generation about the social conditions of 1940s and 50s, and so many things have still not changed. Every person living today in today's times can relate to Manto and his struggles. A MUST watch for every Indian and Pakistani.
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rajesh-puvvada22 September 2018Struggle for the freedom of expression during the turbulent times of partition!! The sliver of those times well presented with some fantastic and powerful story telling from the bold and repulsive pen of Munto!!
*Not* for entertainment seekers. It's for those who can sink inside the every character's mind and try to explore the circumstantial sense of every scene.
Nandita Das has written and directed this by literally living in those characters and times.
I am afraid that the time pass movie goers may complain of boredom and classify this movie a documentary. Nevertheless they may still look at others watching the movie to check if they are alone thinking that they way.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is promisingly the best actor ...sorry the writer. I had to change from actor to a writer because I am still not able to get the Munto out of him.
Art work and sound recording is brilliant!! For some reason I felt the cigarette lighting with a match stick sounded so perfect I felt that it's been some decades since I heard that sound. Same with the sound of the type writer and the ruffle of the paper.
If you are movie lover who loves to analyse every scene go to the movie. If you land up into this movie because other movies are sold out, you won't be sold on entertainment!! Jingoistic expectations will be laid to rest right from scene 1.
I can rate this movie because it will berate someone who will call Priceless!! -
gursharan155121 September 2018After reading Thanda Gohsht I was mesmerised by the literary style and excellence of Sadat Hasan Manto. This movie has been a good portrayal of Manto's life. Manto was a literary genius who transformed literature forever. Impressed by movie and obviously flawless acting of Nawaz. They could have made it a little more better (but there's always room for improvement and critics will always find something to blame). But overall it was a great journey watching this movie and experiencing a view in Manto's life and his thinking(although it feels like grotesque and abominable). Do watch it.
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antaisurra23 September 2018The movie is so string tied with beautiful acting of all the actors, that you tend to ask for another showtime. I wished the movie didn't end on 112 minutes, but effortless. What a direction and screenplay, mind-boggling experience, like said by the director in her interviews, I brought some Mantoniyat with me.
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g_aparna24 September 2018Manto
Based on the true story of a famous pre-independence Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto. Five of his stories are shown in this film which are as follows:
Parents as pimps Tired Prostitute Cold Meat Reactions of a Raped victim Lunatics Exchange - Toba Tek Singh
I am giving the details of each story:
Parents as pimps
A barely 12 years old girl is getting ready - her mother is helping her get ready and in comes the father hurriedly to take her to Babus waiting in the car. Two old babus and their driver see the young girl and the driver feels that the girl is way too young - but her father confirms that she knows her job well!
They take her to the sea beach and generally play around - later the driver is shown to drop her at her home - he gives her a 10 rupee note but she returns it saying that she did not do anything so why should she take the money! Basically showing that the driver took pity on the girl - and unlike her own father - he saved her from the 2 aged beeps by getting them totally drunk....or else they may have used the girl for oral sex or sodomy - whatever!
All three in the car were Indians - moneyed Indians who had a car and a driver too! Our poor freedom fighters were dying young on the streets of our motherland and here - at the same time - some Indians had no scruples whatsoever and probably were least bothered about the 'War of Independence' that the Indians were struggling with!
Poverty stricken parents sell their own children in the flesh market....but alas - no one till date could eradicate poverty - Hail India, Hail Indians!
Tired Prostitute
A pimp stops a man on the road and asks if he is interested in the services of a prostitute. The man agreed so the pimp goes inside a dilapidated building to wake up a half asleep prostitute. She says that she is too tired and will not work but rather sleep. Hearing this the pimp starts beating her and she too starts hitting him back....killing him accidentally! She sees that he is badly injured - maybe even dead - but goes off to sleep instead!
Prostitutes have zero emotions. Children born to them too have zero emotions....such children eventually become very eligible for acts of terrorism and brutal murders, rapes and mass destruction.
Cold Meat
While the India-Pakistan partition was on - law and order totally went haywire and people began looting each other. There was this Pakistani serial I used to watch on Zindagi Channel (not aired anymore!) - Waqt ne kiya kya hassen sitam - based on a novel - Bano - where it was shown how sikh men were attacking buses going to Pakistan and even murdering the people and taking away their jewellery and clothes! In fact it was also shown how the mother of the Sikh youth was so proud of her son to have looted so much gold etc!
Similarly in this story Manto describes that a Sikh man returns home and his wife wants him to make love to her....but he fails to do so. Enraged, the wife thinks that her husband is having an affair with another woman because of which he was unable to quench her sexual thirst. She threatens to kill him with a sharp knife if he does not tell her the truth....it is only then he tells her that he had barged into a house and murdered some family members - but he saw a very attractive girl so he took her on his shoulders instead - thinking he will devour her first before killing her - but when he lays her on the ground - he found that she was already dead! He was shocked to see that he had been carrying a dead body all the way to enjoy her.....
So basically we do not need outsiders to destroy us.....our own people are sufficient to kill and finish everything! Imagine what kind of people we co-exist with - when there was peace, these very people must have met and enjoyed togetherness but just as soon as there was unrest and ruckus....everyone wnated to loot, kill, rape, murder!! Similar thing has been shown in 1947, Earth (starring Aamir Khan and Nandita Dutta).
Reactions of a raped victim
A father is searching for his lost teenage daughter in a refugee camp and is running helter skelter to find her whereabouts....people are even seen making fun of the poor old man. He reaches a room where patients are lying and happens to see his daughter lying on one of the beds. There was a window near the bed so the doctor asks the father to open the window...while the half dead girl heard the words 'open it' she unconsciously started opening her salwar.....meaning she had reached some such place where she was constantly raped - multiple times by many men!! Similar thing has also been shown in 'Begum Jaan' (starring Vidya Balan) and its Bengali version too - starring Rituparna.
Lunatics Exchange - Toba Tek Singh
Story narrates that post independence, the lunatics of respective countries will be reached to their own lands. ...but there is still a lot of confusion as to which place belongs where...so the aged mad man dies on the Noman's land.
Saadat Hasan Manto believed in writing what was prevalent at the present moment. He lived in the present - but alas the 'play-it-safe' authors only wrote hopeful romantic - basically useless - stuff and the publishers also played it safe by publishing romantic chick lits! One thing that went against Manto's writing style was that he used explicit sexual descriptions, which was thought of as 'porn' - which was banned in both the countries during that time....
He did not believe in sugar coating anything - he presented things as is. He even said to one of his friends that when he sees sleazy drunk males entering the Red Light Areas - he cannot paint a rosy picture of the gory incidents that took place there!
During the partition, he had to leave Bombay and return to Pakistan where his blunt acidic writing style was not appreciated and accepted. He even had to face a trial for 'Cold Meat' ! Although he loved his wife and daughters but he could not handle failure and took to heavy drinking...that ruined him all the more!
Few Scenes:
An Indian director is checking out females - how much they can expose and eventually he chose the fair and bold one who had taken off her dress in a jiffy...unlike the dark one who was hesitating in taking off her clothes!! ...and now we have several fairness creams sold in the market...girls and even boys dying to become fair...for what? To get selected to shed your dress in front of the camera!? Struggle for freedom or independence did not make much of a difference to rich and famous people - they continued to live lavishly ever after....in a scene yesteryear actor Ashok Kumar was in the car with Manto when some mobs stopped the car...but up on seeing famous actor Ashok Kumar, they let them go! So basically the rich and the affluent people - who were happily serving the Britishers and even emulating their lifestyles - eg. females wearing plunging necklines, consuming alcohol etc. - did not feel any difference pre- or post independence.....life remained the same for them....night parties, bathing in alcohol, cabaret dance, prostitution.....everything continued as it was!
What is the use of so many deaths and struggle?! -
A film based on the celebrated writer Saadat Hasan Manto is as riveting and overwhelmingly haunting as his work. Like Manto's stories, this film never fails to give goosebumps. Blending seamlessly between the depiction of some of Manto's stories like Ten Rupees, Khol Do, Thanda Gosht and Toba Tek Singh and his life, the film adds extreme depth and an insight to Manto's thinking. Set in the pre-partition era, that is, mid 1940s and 1950s Manto transports you to that era, the life in Mumbai(then Bombay), and Lahore, Bombay film sets and coffee shops, rickety magazine offices, courts, gardens, hooded convertibles and tongas in the sepia coloured tones. The film also grasps the intellectual conversations between Manto and Ismat Chughtai (Rajshri Deshpande) well. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has embodied the character of Manto. With that I mean, he IS Manto in the film. He is backed by an equally talented cast, with his wife Safiya(Rasika Dugal), who portrays a controlled and strong demeanour, his dear friend and actor Shyam(Tahir Bhasin), and a host of talented actors in special appearances. Divided like the fonts used in the film, Siddiqui brings out the inner divide, conflict, the hidden rage, the disgust, the hurt, the inner turmoil, the helplessness and fear, the urge to write the truth along with managing his household, the continuous court appearances to perfection. The hurt and regret speaks volumes with his incessant cigarette puffs and chugging of alcohol. With memorable dialogues and truthful portrayal of the characters, this is one of the films which will talked about for years. Worth watching a 100 times. The only fault? - The film got over too soon.
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sohaiblums6 December 2018If you like this you will love sarmad khoosat's manto then.....
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dhama-abhi18 September 2018#Manto, for his love for Bombay and his arrogance to pen down truth, to his journey in Lahore where arrogance to write truth use to suffocates his family, from the habit of writing truth with a pencil that can't be erased to the alcoholism which was his medicine to surpass all the contradictions, however bitter, his work maybe - a true mirror for society! #Brilliant work a must watch! #NanditaDas #Nawazuddin
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Azanspy28 December 2018Nandita Das did a good job with Manto but the story is not so good as the direction. Manto leads in many aspects like direction, cinematography, Zakir Hussain's music score and most importandly, performance. Every actor did an excellent job and Nawazuddin Siddique gave one of his best performance of his career.
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musmankhalil14 May 2019This depiction of manto is the worst. I've seen many other depictions, even local theatre depicted manto better than this. Many core events of manto's life weren't even touched and over all picturization wasn't very much eye catching. Really disappointed.
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An artist has mind and heart without fear, full of questions, freedom. Manto, a Hindustani writer, a controversial figure, and an avid drinker to make the situation worse. This story is about the dilemma, the confusion, fear and anger of the separation of India and Pakistan in 1947. Many books and movies have been made and will be written about the same for years to come. What makes this one stand out then. We dwell deep into the mind of a writer, who is trying to acknowledge the new reality (moving to Pakistan) and yet reluctant to accept it. His words, his poetry, his friends,his memories all left behind. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has portrayed the character just the way it was supposed to be. The actual stories written by manto, are included into the movie, and they give a rather horrific account of the partition, a pain only the victims can understand. All supporting cast have done an equally great job. It is another gem by Nandita Das. A must watch if you want to witness what actual Indian cinema has to offer.
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manubhatt322 September 2018If you are one of those people who hate English subtitles in a Hindi movie, my sincere suggestion to you is to check before-hand if the subtitles are shown in the show you are going to watch.
I watched this movie, at INOX Bhubaneswar. God knows, who is the culprit behind this idiocy.
Apart from that, the movie is good, atleast from what I was able to make of it, despite the difficulty and frustration in understanding the dialogues, because of the subtitles. The acting of Nawaz is terrific. The insertion of his short-stories, into the film, is also well-done and blends near perfectly.
One thing, which I didn't like and was clearly avoidable, was the fact that the movie is not completely sincere, honest and accurate in it's depiction of Manto's life. For example, Manto started facing court trials in India only, and it did not start in Pakistan. He faced fine in only one of the total of six trials he faced. I am not fully aware of the financial hardships faced by him, but the effect and impact of the fine or the court decision, certainly seemed a bit exaggerated. -
CineRenaissance17 February 2019A movie is successful if makes you think beyond its script. This is one such movie. "Manto" forces you introspect on stereotypes and definitions. It challenges you to face contradictions in society. Entertains successfully while making you open to realities no matter how uncomfortable they are
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nipunbeniwal23 May 2020For the people: This movie is about the life of Sadat Hassan Manto and how he gets himself entangled with his stories about societal norms. Movie gets a little slow in between, I liked the second half only. Nawazuddin's acting is superb as always. By the people.
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niyantha6 December 2019nanditadas scenes and scenarios constructed very polite and cute matured !! Brilliant making ! ( Thanks for many Beautiful scenes and Frames)
The Visionary storytelling style and fact revealing with the greatest cast Moreover #ZakirHussain score #Karthikvijay adorn Frames (Scenes between #Manto and #safia in park ) Made pure and poetic !!
The incredible cast #nawazuddinsiddiqui #rasikadugal #rajshrideshpande One of the finest Collaboration of Art work !!
#Manto Saab genius and spontaneous writer's of time's !! -
A masterpiece on the life of Saadat Hasan Manto. A genius of all time and he is character is very depicted by Nawazuddin Siddiqui (I honestly can't think of anyone, who could have done it better). The movie cultivates critical thinking as much as the writings of Saadat Hasan Manto do.
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jalaxism17 July 2019Awesome! Sadat Hasan Manto, man lived the life.
I wish movie had his death. The way he died has the way he lived the life. Movie feels incomplete without that. -
harshbhagat-2600114 August 2019Manto is a brave film to begin with. The main protagonist Sahadathassan Manto played sincerely by Nawazuddin Siddique is a whole hearted interesting filmsy character that turns is head upto everything and writes it off. He is brutally honest but what the character lacks we never get to see it explored we just see the sheer honesty. Its a great thing but not for the sake of honestly we can't sidetrack the human part of it. Some things are hit and miss. But although the screenplay is realistic it lacks proper guidance. The direction is good at best and the acting is rock-solid as expected. Some characterisation problems and lousy pace aside its an watchable film with some great moments and life lessons which will ring inside us long time. 6/10
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shilpimahajan6 March 2019Manto was far ahead of his times and a literary master, it its befitting that we see his biography on the big cinema. Awesome acting, characterization and a take on how life changed for people after partition. A MUST watch for everyone. A MUST read for everyone - Manto ki kahaniyan.
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beevenkat11 May 2019#Manto is a story which needs to be told to todays generation. Many thanks to #nanditadas for making such a good film. Its the story of controversial writer #saadathasanmanto. His soul belongs to bombay, but hes forced to move to lahore after the partition. He smokes n drinks beyond limits n believes in narrating the bitter realities of life. Hes okay if his stories r labeled obscene, but hes insulted if someone says that they dont represent literature. Very good performances n meaningful dialogues r the plus points. This film needs ur love n support, do watch it in theaters. Rating 3.5/5.
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ahsenkhan-273036 April 2020An awful biography. They haven't covered even the half life time of manto.