Nandita Das to direct Manto biopic

Urdu poets never had it so good. Even while producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali is producing a biopic on Sahir Ludhianvi, Nandita Das has announced a biopic on Sadat Hassan Manto, the Pakistani short-story writer of the 1940s, considered among the finest litterateurs from the pre-partition era.

Interestingly, Hansal Mehta was all set to do a bio-pic on Manto with Rajkummar Rao in the lead. The scripting had almost been completed. But it seems Mehta has decided to opt out for the sake of avoiding a clash of interests with Nandita's film .

Says Hansal, "I am not doing the Manto film right now. My hands are full. I am very happy that Nandita is making the film."

Incidentally, Nawaz who is now playing Nandita's Manto was Hansal's first choice for the gay professor's role in Aligarh.