Manto (film)

Plot outline

The story is about a 20th-century writer, Manto (Sarmad Khoosat), who grew-up in the showbiz industry of Bombay (now Mumbai) and Lahore. It focuses the last seven years of the writer's life, during which he wrote some of his most controversial stories, such as "Thanda Gosht", "Toba Tek Singh", "License", "Upar, Neechay aur Darmiyan" and "Peshawar Se Lahore". For these, Manto had to face charges of obscenity thrice.

Cast

Soundtrack

The music album was released on 6 August 2015, at a Blue Carpet event held at Nueplex Cinema, Karachi by distributors Geo Entertainment and Geo Films. The soundtrack, including background score, sound mixing, editing and original songs, was composed by Jamal Rahman of True Brew Records. Khoosat, who hired Rahman after hearing his work for Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, said, "I want to make it yours and run with it." Three of the four songs are taken from famous poets, including Majeed Amjad, Mirza Ghalib and Indian Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi. One song was written by Muhammad Hanif. One song of the film, sung by Ustad Salamt Ali Nazar, was neither revealed nor announced at the launch. The soundtrack was praised for its classical genre, strong lyrics and soulful music composition.

Release

Initially the film was scheduled to release in late 2014 but was postponed due to delays in post-production. The first teaser trailer was released on 6 August 2015, for limited special screening. The official trailer was released online on 29 August 2015. Manto was released on 11 September 2015 in Pakistan under the banners of Geo Films. Before theatrical release in the US, the film was screened at three of eight Ivy League institutions, including Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley between 16 and 25 October.

Critical reception

The film has been positively received by critics, with Dawn's Mehreen Hasan calling it "A darkly perfect biopic". Blasting News' Adnan Murad stated, "With an interestingly intricate premise, 'Manto' depicts the life of an accomplished writer of the subcontinent. The movie clearly rests on the shoulders of supremely talented Sarmad, who eloquently plays Manto." Galaxy Lollywood gave it 4.4 out of 5 stars, calling it "As big of a must watch for every Pakistani as perhaps Jamil Dehlavi's Jinnah was." Films with Rubban labeled the film as a 'Cinematic Masterpiece'.

TV series

In 2012, before developing the film, a TV series based on the life and literary work of Saadat Hassan Manto, titled Main Manto, was made. It had a total of 22 episodes and was made with the same cast and production as the film. Both the film and the television series were directed by Sarmad Khoosat, who also played the title character. Playwrighter Shahid Nadeem served as a screenwriter and Babar Javed produced the serial and film under A & B Entertainment at Geo Films. The series was scheduled to release in 2012, but was put on hold for the film production. The drama serial was expected to be aired in December 2017 after the release of the film.