Nandita Das on creating promo videos with influencers whose free speech was curtailed
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 14, 2018)

It is no coincidence that director Nandita Das has timed the trailer release of Manto - the biopic on celebrated writer Saadat Hasan Manto who was the flagbearer of freedom of speech - for Independence Day. In keeping with the film's theme, the makers launched a series of videos yesterday featuring several influencers whose free speech has been challenged in the past.

The series features stand-up comic Tanmay Bhat whose AIB roast in 2015 had landed him in legal trouble, Malishka Mendonsa who was sent a notice by the BMC after she poked fun at the civic body's ill-preparedness during monsoon last year, rapper Divine and social media influencer Saloni Chopra, among others.

Das says that the video, which sees the youngsters with tape on their mouth, will emphasise the frustration one feels to have their freedom of speech curtailed. "It was Viacom18's [producer] idea to rope in influencers. Manto is for anyone who believes that truth matters, and seeks courage to uphold it."



Divine in the video, Saloni Chopra and Tanmay Bhat