Manto Movie Review - The Bold Writer
Nandita Das's Manto is breath-taking and makes up for a captivating story about a writer who used his right to expression freely for documenting stories that are regarded exceptional till date.
Cast - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Rasika Dugal, Rajshri Deshpande, Rishi Kapoor, Javed Akhtar
Directed By - Nandita Das
Genre - Biopic, Drama
It had been a while since I had watched a movie at the theatre where the audience members were glued to there seats for several minutes before heading for the exit. Nandita Das's Manto is not a film which contains shocks and unpredictable twists that would make your mouth open. It's the way she had recreated the life of one of the most influential writers of all time on the screen which caused the audience to not force their way for the exit as soon as the credits started rolling. Perhaps they too like me were amazed by the treatment this film gave to a biopic, a genre currently being abused by the industry for making a huge amount of money, that made them both happy and excited after watching this film.
Manto is based on the life of the famous Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto who mostly wrote about the abuse on women in society which offended many people during that time who dismissed them for being sexually arousing, influencing the people's mind negatively. Director Nandita Das takes a unique approach for this movie by translating his five short stories in between on screen. The stories in order include - Dus Rupay, 100-Watt Bulb, Khol Do, Thanda Gosht and Toba Tek Singh. Thanks to some early reviews, I had read all five of them before watching this film which I do recommend because this film assumes that you are already familiar with Manto's stories and hence, does not have an introductory part in it whenever a story starts playing in between the scenes. For those familiar with the mentioned five shorts would find it easy to connect the dots whereas the others might find themselves scratching there heads.
The film starts with Manto's Dus Rupay and ends with Toba Tek Singh. The way the stories are embedded in the narrative is mind-blowing. This film benefits from the exceptional direction of Nandita Das who along with Kartik Vijay's painstakingly beautiful cinematography successfully transports the audience to the turbulent times of the pre- and post- independent India. The movie follows the footsteps of other films like A Ghost Story and First Reformed for its aspect ratio which again gives the film an old-school look and feel. Zakir Hussain's stunning background score flows fluently with the film working subtly in the background overall providing a rich look to it.
Any void's left is filled by the fantastic performances of the ensemble cast of the film. Nawazuddin Siddiqui steals your heart as you watch him with awe giving one of his best performance to date. He camouflages with the setting and the characters around him like a chameleon. Never does he let you think that you are watching an actor portraying someone on screen, it looks as if you are watching Saadat Hasan and his life in front of you. Rasika Dugal as his wife Safia looking at Manto with her big round eyes through her glasses supports, strengthens and admires him throughout his life. Tahir Raj Bhasin as Shyam, Manto's best friend and actor is one of his closest friend and the actor delivered superbly in the film. There are many special appearances here ready to surprise you like Javed Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor and you find out the rest.
Another impressive aspect of the movie is that the director does not get swayed by the personality of her subject and shows us both his good side as the author and the bad side of an alcoholic getting reduced to a mere waste of arrogance and egotism.
Manto is a film that I would recommend everyone to watch and if possible, do try to read the five short stories mentioned above for a better viewing experience. You should not miss it at any cost.
Rating - 4.5/5
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Twitter - https://twitter.com/vikas_yadav98
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vikasy199/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vimovies123/
Cast - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Rasika Dugal, Rajshri Deshpande, Rishi Kapoor, Javed Akhtar
Directed By - Nandita Das
Genre - Biopic, Drama
It had been a while since I had watched a movie at the theatre where the audience members were glued to there seats for several minutes before heading for the exit. Nandita Das's Manto is not a film which contains shocks and unpredictable twists that would make your mouth open. It's the way she had recreated the life of one of the most influential writers of all time on the screen which caused the audience to not force their way for the exit as soon as the credits started rolling. Perhaps they too like me were amazed by the treatment this film gave to a biopic, a genre currently being abused by the industry for making a huge amount of money, that made them both happy and excited after watching this film.
Manto is based on the life of the famous Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto who mostly wrote about the abuse on women in society which offended many people during that time who dismissed them for being sexually arousing, influencing the people's mind negatively. Director Nandita Das takes a unique approach for this movie by translating his five short stories in between on screen. The stories in order include - Dus Rupay, 100-Watt Bulb, Khol Do, Thanda Gosht and Toba Tek Singh. Thanks to some early reviews, I had read all five of them before watching this film which I do recommend because this film assumes that you are already familiar with Manto's stories and hence, does not have an introductory part in it whenever a story starts playing in between the scenes. For those familiar with the mentioned five shorts would find it easy to connect the dots whereas the others might find themselves scratching there heads.
The film starts with Manto's Dus Rupay and ends with Toba Tek Singh. The way the stories are embedded in the narrative is mind-blowing. This film benefits from the exceptional direction of Nandita Das who along with Kartik Vijay's painstakingly beautiful cinematography successfully transports the audience to the turbulent times of the pre- and post- independent India. The movie follows the footsteps of other films like A Ghost Story and First Reformed for its aspect ratio which again gives the film an old-school look and feel. Zakir Hussain's stunning background score flows fluently with the film working subtly in the background overall providing a rich look to it.
Any void's left is filled by the fantastic performances of the ensemble cast of the film. Nawazuddin Siddiqui steals your heart as you watch him with awe giving one of his best performance to date. He camouflages with the setting and the characters around him like a chameleon. Never does he let you think that you are watching an actor portraying someone on screen, it looks as if you are watching Saadat Hasan and his life in front of you. Rasika Dugal as his wife Safia looking at Manto with her big round eyes through her glasses supports, strengthens and admires him throughout his life. Tahir Raj Bhasin as Shyam, Manto's best friend and actor is one of his closest friend and the actor delivered superbly in the film. There are many special appearances here ready to surprise you like Javed Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor and you find out the rest.
Another impressive aspect of the movie is that the director does not get swayed by the personality of her subject and shows us both his good side as the author and the bad side of an alcoholic getting reduced to a mere waste of arrogance and egotism.
Manto is a film that I would recommend everyone to watch and if possible, do try to read the five short stories mentioned above for a better viewing experience. You should not miss it at any cost.
Rating - 4.5/5
Follow Me On:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/vikas_yadav98
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vikasy199/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vimovies123/
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