BEHIND HER ROVING LENS

After starring in over 40 films and directing two, Nandita Das recently sallied into the literary world. Her debut book, Manto, chronicles what transpired behind the scenes of the eponymous movie that she directed. ADILA MATRA caught up with the versatile artiste at the fifth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival, where Das got candid about her triumphs and tribulations as a director, travels around the world, and bucket-list destinations.

- ADILA MATRA

Why did you decide to write Manto?

Manto, the movie, was a six-year-long journey, that began in 2012. There was a lot that I learned during the course of it, from the inception of the idea to the challenges of releasing an independent film. I felt the need to document this journey somewhere. Hence, the book.

Tell us a bit about finding the perfect location for the movie Manto, since it is set in the Lahore of the 1950s.

I was documenting Manto’s life from 1946 to 1950 and wanted it to be authentic. I really wanted to shoot in Lahore, but it did not work out. Then we thought Punjab would be a good choice, since its architecture is similar to that of Lahore.

But the two don’t look similar anymore.Everything has changed, it has lost its oldworld charm. After weeks of research, we finally found the Lahore of the 1950s in Vaso, a small village in Gujarat. I saw photographs of the town first, and it felt like Vaso was stuck in the past—the bylanes, streets, and markets reminded one of Lahore.