Actor-director Nandita Das is all set to promote her upcoming venture, Manto at the Cannes Film Festival this year, reported Hindustan Times.
The film will be tracing the life of the infamous writer Saadat Hassan Manto at the time of the India-Pakistan Partition.
Currently, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is prepping for the film and has already completed costume tests for the role and shared the first look of him as Manto on social media.
While Manto features Nawazuddin as the prolific short story writer, and Rasika Dugal essays the role of his wife, the movie also stars Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar in pivotal roles.
However, this is not the first time Das will be seen at Cannes. She has been there several times, and twice as part of the jury.
Let’s hope that Manto gets screened at the famous Film Festival as well.
According to DNA, in order to get deep into the character, the Gangs of Wasseypur star has been striving hard to excel at the complex role.
“Thanks to Nandita’s research on Manto, I feel I know him well enough to get into his mind and body. The body part is relatively easier. I need to dress the way he did, and as long as I’m playing him, I need to live my life the way he did. Alone. Writing words that created magic on paper.” he revealed in an interview.
“I plan to recreate Manto’s world around me. I will have my room re-furnished with the things that Manto lived with. I will dress like him, try to eat the food that he ate, sleep on the kind of bed that he did, wear the kind of clothes he did and talk like him. If I enter Manto’s physical world, I feel I can penetrate his mind,” he added.
“As long as I play him I won’t be taking on any other project. I want to do justice to the awe-inspiring personality of this great man. And to be able to do this I am willing to make any sacrifice required,” he confessed.
