Manto trailer: Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrays the Urdu poet's tribulations in a post-independent India

Nandita Das’ upcoming directorial Manto , which features Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the titular role, launched its  trailer on Independence Day, 15 August. The narrative is clear from the well-shot video; an impassioned poet who fights to express what he feels, without fear. The actor tweeted the trailer on his Twitter handle.

Bol ke lab azaad hai! This Independence Day, let’s celebrate the freedom that #Manto stood for. https://t.co/L5yYocUoct@mantofilm @HP #FilmStoc @Viacom18Movies @nanditadas @RasikaDugal @TahirRajBhasin @gurdasmaan @Javedakhtarjadu @SirPareshRawal @chintskap @MagicIfFilms

— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) August 14, 2018

The opening dialogue which Siddiqui's Manto  delivers in his patent sombre style, reverberates throughout the video, “Mein toh apni kahaniyon ko ek aina samajhta hun jisme samaaj apne aap ko dekh sakey (I consider my stories to be the mirror in which society sees itself).” He repeatedly asks why speaking up and saying the truth is wrong or something that ought to be curbed. [caption id=“attachment_4813921” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Nawazuddin Siddiqui essyas the role of Manto in Nandita Das’ biopic on the Urdu poet.[/caption] The narrative unfolds as Manto is forced to shift to Lahore. Kartik Vijay captures post-independent India and Lahore in subtle sepia which perfectly blends with the crises of that time. Siddiqui oscillates from the mind of a creative genius to a vulnerable man torn by the country falling apart while intolerance is on a continuous rise. Siddiqui’s voice looms heavy over the trailer, especially when he talks about the existential crisis faced by most of the youth just after Independence, “Jab ghulam the, tab aazadi ka khwab dekhte the, aur ab aazad hai toh kaunsa khwab dekhenge? (When we were enslaved, we dreamt of freedom, but now that we are free, what do we dream of?)” Manto is scheduled to hit theatres on 21 September, 2018.