The first look of Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Manto had left us in shock, promising a lot about yet another stellar performance from the actor. Now, Nawaz has taken to the screen as Saadat Hasan Manto in a short film by Nandita Das, called “In Defence of Freedom”, in which he spoke extensively about his right to express and write, as blunt as he aspires it to be. The short film had its debut at the India Today Conclave, leaving everyone just speechless.
The short film on the life of “Saadat Hussain Manto” is out now. Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui who had earlier shared his first look as Manto has portrayed it absolutely perfect in this short film. The film spoke about exploring the need and importance of freedom of expression and questioning why one should not write about the not-so-pleasant things in society.
According to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he read a lot of Manto’s writings to get into the character and to imbibe his dialect since no videos were available to understand his characteristics.
The short film is directed by Nandita Das who spoke about how Manto is still relevant to the society, “In any democratic or progressive society, freedom of speech, although ambiguous to define, should be cherished. Freedom of expression is needed for any society to be progressive else we will go back in time if there are no diverse views or analysis if a child cannot ask questions.”
