Essaying lesser-known characters...

Is easy says Rasika Dugal, who is playing Saadat Hasan Manto’s wife in Manto

Rasika Dugal, who is playing the wife of legendary short story writer Saadat Hasan Manto in the upcoming biopic, says portraying a little-known character on-screen evokes different interpretations in minds of people. Rasika, an avid reader of Manto’s work, said she was relying on the extensive research done by director Nandita Das to play Manto’s wife Safia, as not much information is available about her in the public domain.

“I had read an article written by Nandita on Safia Manto just before she announced the project. It is easier to play a role where not much is known about the character, as people come with preconceived ideas. They have an image of that person and they have certain expectations of what you would give them. They could either be thrilled by what you offer and the flip side is they could be disappointed,” Rasika said.

According to the actor, the pressure is more on her co-star Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is playing the titular character in

Manto, as a lot of people know about the legendary author.

“...There are people who are die-hard fans of Manto. I am sure people will be more than happy with what they will see on-screen. If there is absolute no information about a person then that can be a problem and a challenge. Nandita has spent a lot of time with Manto’s family and did an extensive research. The script is very rich with great anecdotes and that was a solid base to begin with,” she said.