Nawazuddin Siddiqui to portray Manto in Nandita Das’ film

CANNES: Hindi cinema’s rising star Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been chosen to portray the famous Pakistani literary character Saadat Hasan Manto in Nandita Das’ upcoming Indo-French co-production named ‘Manto’, according to a Times of India report.

Nandita Das, who has twice been part of the Cannes Film Festival jury, made the formal announcement regarding Siddiqui’s selection at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in France.

The shoot is likely to take place in Lahore and Mumbai around the end of the year.

Nandita upon Nawazudin’s selection gushed over the actor’s capabilities saying, “In India, economics always interferes with art and there was pressure on me to cast a more mainstream star."

"But I absolutely need the kind of nuances and depth that only Nawazuddin can deliver," she added.

Nawazuddin’s performance as a deranged serial killer ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’ was highly praised at Cannes.

Nandita on the project said that Manto is not a big budget Bollywood film, but it is neither small too as the movie requires recreation of Mumbai and Lahore from the 1950s, which definitely needs a substantial budget.

Manto is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories in South Asian history. He is mostly known for his in-depth writings on taboos present in the sub-continent's society.