Manto (2018)

Das's respectful biopic is elegantly directed and features terrific performances. But it's a slog recounting Manto's ordeals.

Manto goes after a bit of everything - the result is a solid work with many affecting passages, but without the focus that might have made it a greater film. Nandita Das proves, again, that her most distinctive quality is understatedness.

Das deftly weaves Manto's literature into fabric of this account of four years of his life. The dramatised tales - of child prostitution, of violent pimps and jealous lovers - take moments from Manto's own life as jumping off points.