Filmmaker Nandita Das wishes her film 'Manto' actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui on his birthday with a heartwarming post

Nandita's work with Nawazuddin in 'Manto' is not just a directorial endeavour but a collaborative journey, as she points out the blurry lines between fact and fiction that Nawazuddin so skilfully portrayed.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, filmmaker Nandita Das extended warm birthday wishes to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the lead actor of her critically acclaimed film 'Manto.'

In her Instagram post, Nandita shares a candid picture with Nawazuddin underscoring the close-knit bond formed during the making of 'Manto.' Her post reads, “Janamdin Mubarak, Manto Sahab,” linking the personal with the professional as she aligns the actor with the persona of Manto himself.

Nandita's work with Nawazuddin in 'Manto' is not just a directorial endeavour but a collaborative journey, as she points out the blurry lines between fact and fiction that Nawazuddin so skillfully portrayed.

She had revealed, "While I was writing the film, I thought of him. I wanted someone who could portray many contradictory emotions. Usually, we characterise a person and assign certain attributes, but we don’t show contradictions as they are always difficult to portray. Manto, for example, was a person with moral courage, but he was also scared of going to jail. But, he was slapped with six cases. Those kinds of contradictions are not easy to show—somebody who is so confident but vulnerable, who is deeply sensitive yet very angry. Nawaz transforms into the character,'"

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rasika Duggal, along with filmmaker Nandita Das, also attended the 71st Cannes Film Festival. Manto was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.