Wild Child Turns 100

Dutt will revisit Manto on a broader canvas by curating an art exhibition on the stories of Manto. Artists such as Shamshad Hussain,Gogi Saroj Pal,Kanwal Dhaliwal and S Rajkumar are a part of this project. “His stories are visually powerful and there’s tremendous potential to link words and visuals and depict a sharp reality,” says Dutt. Delhi-based actor-director MK Raina,on the other hand,is planning to take Manto to Lahore,Kashmir and Amritsar via a theatre festival of his works. The festival starts with Amritsar,where Manto lived for long. “This is the centenary year of Bhisham Sahni,Balraj Sahni and Manto and I want to pay my tribute,” says Raina,who has dramatised many stories of Manto for stage and says the writer’s texts are lyrical,poetic and political all at the same time. As part of the festival,he will revive Tum Saadat Hasan Manto Ho,a play on communalism.

Another theatreperson,Usha Ganguli,says,“I did three back-to-back productions of Manto’s stories for 4.5 hours in Kolkata and had huge queues.” The Kolkata-based theatre director will showcase a three-part series this year,and an invitation from Jammu is already in. “I first highlighted his women characters in Badnam Manto,then his Partition woes in Sarhad ke Paar Manto and finally looked the man himself in Gumnaam Manto. It is through this series that our group,Rangakarmee,will mark this centenary,” she adds.

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