Lights, camera and action are what Sarmad Sultan
Khoosat has grown up around. He is the son of famed film actor and producer
Irfan Khoosat and by default, this industry — be it television, film or theatre
— is close to his heart. After his success in the television/drama industry,
Khoosat is now ready to step into the shoes of a film director and lead actor
in the biopic, tentatively titled, Manto Not Mein Manto. While several plays
have been written and performed about Saadat Hasan Manto, this will be the
first time a movie will be produced on the life of the iconic writer.
“There
really is no agenda. We want to present honest cinema which will be a treat to
the audience,” says the young director. “This is not going to be your typical
mainstream film. The scale will be a lot larger than a typical independent film
as we have half the television industry participating.” Without giving more
details about the star-studded cast, Khoosat reveals that this rather
large-scale production will later be expanded into a TV drama.
Manto Not Mein Manto, written by playwright
Shahid Nadeem of the Ajoka theatre, is a first of its kind attempt at
revisiting the legacy of Manto; the film will capture Manto’s life after
partition and the stories that followed. Nadeem has been closely tied with the
concept as he had previously written a version for theatre. “For a long time,
he [Nadeem] was busy with his career in television, but I think he is one of
the most underrated screenwriters today,” says Khoosat. “He is authentic and
puts a lot of research in his work.”
Accompanied by a fully-loaded soundtrack, the
film itself will focus on Manto as an individual. The project has been bred
with a sense of honesty to the writer and his legacy, says Khoosat. “I think,
irrespective of scale, the content has a very epic and real side to it, which
has great cinematic value,” he adds. “Manto’s life had been marked by fame and
notoriety, but in recent times, he has
developed into his own legend.”
Khoosat emphasises that the idea was to bring
Manto, the person, to the big screen. “This is not going to be an overtly
political film, but it will involve a commentary of some of the things
occurring at the time,” he continues. “When I came across the project, I felt
he needed to have a film. Manto’s relevance is very visible and it will
surprise [people] just how relevant he is in this new age.”
When it came down to who would play the coveted
role of Manto, Khoosat admits that a long screening process took place and
several actors were considered for the task. “We were initially looking for
someone who had a significant amount of comfort with Manto’s writings and the
script itself,” says Khoosat, adding that they kept an eye open for someone who
matched the various characteristics he possessed including his age. “But
eventually, it was encouraged that I try the role,” he adds. Khoosat, who has a
noteworthy background in theatre, took the challenge sanguinely.
Manto Not Mein Manto has already been shot and
is currently in its editing phase. It is scheduled to release this fall.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th,
2013.
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