Ismat Chughtai’s writings have influenced me

After Rajshri Deshpande’s acclaimed performance in the award-winning film

Sexy Durga

, directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, the actress will next be seen in Nandita Das’ Manto, the biopic on Indo-Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto.

Rajshri will play Ismat Chughtai, the popular feminist writer in Urdu, who along with Manto played a pivotal role in Indian feminist literature.
The actress says she is gung-ho about bagging the opportunity to play one of her literary heroes. “Ismat is a big name in Indian literature and is one of my favourite writers. Her writings have influenced me a lot since I was young,” says Rajshri.

The movie will also mark the first time she is portraying a real-life character onscreen. “I feel blessed to enact the person who I grew up adoring,” she says.

On preparing to play the role, Rajshri says, “Ismat’s character is simple yet complicated. The more I try to understand her, the less I seem to know about her. As part of the research, I had visited my teacher, who was a friend of Ismat.”

Manto will have her sharing screen space with

Nawazuddin Siddique

, who plays the famed writer. “A movie on Manto will be incomplete without Ismat. They shared a chemistry which is not yet explored,” she says, adding that getting a chance to work with Nawazuddin is something she is chuffed about.
Rajshri is expected to join the sets of the film on March 29. The movie, which has started shooting, also has Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar in pivotal roles. “Nandita is a fantastic director to work with and I am confident about everybody involved in it,” she signs off.