“If There’s One Thing I Hope To Seed Through This Film, It’s The Idea Of Mantoiyat”

Nandita Das and her work speak the same language. Understated, intense, provocative.

And with her newest film and passion project — the much-buzzed about Manto, back from a rousing reception at Cannes and released to wide acclaim here at home — Nandita may have undertaken her most challenging project yet: a film that does justice to the genius and provocations of Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto, a writer whose obsessive attachment to the truth and clear-eyed examination of human behaviour saw him vilified, prosecuted in court and tried for obscenity six times, thrice in British India and thrice post-Independence in Pakistan.

And in the run up to Manto’s release in late September, Nandita gave us behind-the-scenes insights into this much-anticipated film, and opened doors to conversations about cinema and literature, truth and censorship, and one writer’s unwavering commitment to shining a spotlight on our darkest selves.

Watch the full session above.