Godrej India Culture Lab and Viacom18 Motion
Pictures hosted a special conversation based upon Manto, a film by Nandita Das
as a precursor to the national release. It
included presence of the film’s cast members Nawazuddin Siddiqui and
Rasika Dugal, literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil, as well as Nazia Erum,
author of ‘Mothering a Muslim’.
Based on the idea of freedom of expression, the
film revolves around Saadat Hasan Manto, the skilled satirist and chronicler of
the chaos of Partition who was put on trial six times for his provocative
writings. The prolific writer was thus invariably a champion of free speech. He
once famously said, “If you find my stories dirty, the society you are living
in is dirty.”
More than 400 people attended the event. The
conversation not only focused on relevance of Manto and his writing in today’s
contemporary India but also touch based upon topics like freedom of speech, and
expression, progressive writers movement, attack on journalists or censorship
of content in films and television.
The film follows the most tumultuous four years in
the life of Manto and that of the two countries he inhabits – India and
Pakistan. As sectarian violence engulfs the region, Manto makes the difficult
choice of leaving his beloved Bombay. In Lahore, he finds himself bereft of
friends and unable to find takers for his writings. His increasing alcoholism
leads him into a downward spiral. Through all of this, he continues to write
prolifically, without dilution. This is the tale of two emerging nations, two
faltering cities, and one man who tries to make sense of it all.
The Godrej India Culture Lab is a fluid
experimental space that cross-pollinates ideas and people to explore what it
means to be modern and Indian. India Culture Lab is based in Vikhroli, Mumbai,
at the Godrej headquarters. The Lab was launched in January 2011 as an attempt
to create an alternative intellectual hub in Mumbai city that would serve as a
catalyst for conversations about contemporary India, by brokering interactions
between academia, the creative industries, the corporate world and the not-for-profit
sector. Founded by Parmesh Shahani, the Lab curates and organize events of
different sizes.
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