Actress and filmmaker, Nandita Das is disappointed as her movie ‘Manto’ was not passed by Pakistani Censor Board. According to her writer, Saadat Hasan Manto, whose life has been traced in the film, belonged to both the countries equally.
Nandita tweeted on Saturday, “Disappointed that Manto will not be seen in theatres in Pakistan. I was keen as he belongs to both countries equally.”
Disappointed that Manto will not be seen in theatres in Pakistan. I was keen as he belongs to both countries equally.
Viacom18 Motion Pictures Namrata Goyal… https://t.co/rC7rxhKHgO
— Nandita Das (@nanditadas) December 15, 2018
Nawazuddin Siddiqui has revived the character of Manto on screen. Rasika Dugal was seen as the on-screen wife of Manto. The film also starsTahir Raj Bhasin, Rishi Kapoor and Divya Dutta in key roles.
Nandita wrote an article explaining why the film could not be released in Pakistan. She wrote, “I just got the news that Manto was not passed by their Censor Board. The reasons cited are that ‘the film has anti-Partition narrative theme and explicit scenes, which is against the norms of Pakistani society’.”
“The whole process of censorship is so subjective and arbitrary that one can only hope to reason it out. Unfortunately, this time around, I won’t get the opportunity to present my case to the Pakistani Censor Board,” she added.
“In the last six years that I have been working on Manto, not only his family but many others in Pakistan have been waiting anxiously to see it on the big screen. So while this explanation is in defense of freedom, it is also for them.”
‘Manto’ is co-produced by HP Studios, Filmstoc, and Viacom18 Motion Pictures. It is based on the life of Manto who died young, at the age of 43, in 1955. He published about 22 pieces, comprising novels, essays, personal sketches and movie scripts. He introduced the character Mirza Ghalib to the world who became famous and often compared with the stature of William Shakespeare.