Nawazuddin Siddiqui charged Re 1 for Manto. On Tuesday Trivia

“Haan, maine paison ke liye films kari hain, aur aage bhi karunga. I do such films so that I can do good cinema, where I don’t get money, or which I can do for free," Nawazuddin Siddiqui said in a 2018 interview.

Nawaz struggled for 12 years before making a mark in 2012 with Anurag Kashyap's Gangs Of Wasseypur. He has since maintained a fine balance between commercial cinema and films that make full use of his artistic potential. Manto (2018), based on the life of prominent Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto, was one such film.

Today, as we celebrate Saadat Hasan Manto's birth anniversary, we dedicate this week's Tuesday Trivia to the author and talk about how Nawaz charged just Re 1 for the film.

An actor lives many lives through the different roles he/she plays on the screen. But some characters mirror the actor's personality. Manto was one such character for Nawaz. After reading the film's script, he felt a deep connection with Manto; as if the author was a part of him.

Explaining why he didn't charge any fee for Manto, Nawaz said in an interview, “When I was briefed about the film and especially about the character, I felt he thinks a lot like me. I also think the same way, but I do not have courage like him. I thought if I would charge from Nandita (Das) to put up my thoughts and ideas through Manto, nothing else will give me higher guilt than this. But since I am a professional actor, I charged one rupee."

Nawaz's portrayal was phenomenal. The actor captured the restless feeling in Manto's writing, as well as the frustration the writer must have felt while leaving Bombay -- the city he felt most at home in -- during Partition. The transfer of Manto's life from paper to screen was seamless, for which Nawaz deserves much credit.

Nandita Das, the film's director, said Nawaz's decision to forego pay was gracious. "This is the character that an actor would give an arm and a leg for," she said. "But to not charge even a nominal fee is very gracious of Nawaz."

Like Nawaz, many other celebrities associated with Manto didn't charge a penny. They include Rishi Kapoor, Gurdas Maan, Javed Akhtar, Ranvir Shorey, Divya Dutta, Purab Kohli, Rajshri Deshpande and Swanand Kirkire.

"There is more to life than money. The compensation comes in the form of experience and the joy of working on interesting projects. I, too, have done many such projects and have never looked for 'monetary compensation'," Nandita said.

Manto fearlessly spoke about the hard truths of society and expressed them in his writing too. He wrote extensively about the Partition and the misery that followed, and how it deeply affected him. The author died in 1955 aged 42, not long after India and Pakistan were divided, but his writings continue to haunt us and remind us to speak the truth.

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