Manto Movie Reviews

Read the Manto Movie Reviews Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Rasika Dugal, Rajshri Deshpande.

6.7

Ratings: 6.75/10
Score: 83%
Reviews Counted: 36
Up: 30 | Down: 6

Bollywood Hindi Movie Manto Reviews and Ratings from Top Film Critics.
Director: Nandita Das
Producer: Vikrant Batra, Ajit Andhare, Namrata Goyal, Nandita Das
Writer: Nandita Das
Genre: Biographical Drama
Release Date: 21 September 2018

Raja Sen | Hindustan Times: 3.5/5
Even by Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s own standards, he is improbably brilliant in this deeply internalised role, his wariness like a protective cloak ... Full Review

Renuka Vyavahare | Times of India: 3/5
Nandita Das tries to get into the mind of Manto to understand him as a person and she succeeds to a certain degree. However, you wish the film explored his psyche more than the events leading up to his doom ... Full Review

Kunal Guha | Mumbai Mirror: 2.5/5
This cinematic version of his life and works, however, is far from unbearable but it’s surely too staid for someone with such a vivid imagination ... Full Review

Shubra Gupta | The Indian Express: 2/5
At best, Das’ iteration skims the surface, and we are left searching for the bruised depths of Manto’s stories, which feel even more relevant today ... Full Review

Shilajit Mitra | The New Indian Express: 3.5/5
A studiously crafted take on a writer's inadequacies. Nawazuddin is efficient as Manto - dressed in spotless whites, he vents the mental quandaries of his character through visible twitches on his forehead ... Full Review

Rohit Vats | News18: 4/5
Nawazuddin Siddiqui will Hurt and Haunt You. Manto could never become the ideal writer his family looked up to ... Full Review

Saibal Chatterjee | NDTV: 4/5
Nawazuddin Siddiqui Is Phenomenally Good As The Anguished Writer. Nandita Das' film can be described as the Garam Hawa of our times ... Full Review

Bollywood Hungama: 1.5/5
MANTO has its moments and makes an important comment which is relevant in today’s times. However, the second half is weak and the film overall is too niche ... Full Review

Umesh Punwani | Koimoi: 3.5/5
There are many moments that will bring a lump in your throat, especially the stories of Saadat Hasan Manto that are depicted on screen ... Full Review

Deborah Young | The Hollywood Reporter: 3.5/5
Captures the spirit of the great Urdu poet and writer ... Full Review

Maggie Lee | Variety: 2.5/5
This biopic of celebrated — and castigated — Urdu short story writer Saadat Hasan Manto is stately, but too staid for his provocative writing ... Full Review

Namrata Joshi | The Hindu: 4/5
Haunting portrait of a troubled writer. Nandita Das’ film underlines the continued relevance of Manto’s words whether to do with Hindu-Muslim unity or freedom of expression. Most of all, it’s about his aching love for a city he felt most at home in ... Full Review

Shilpa Jamkhandikar | Reuters: 2.5/5
This is a sketchy biopic, which might resonate with those who are already familiar with Manto’s life and want to see it enacted on celluloid ... Full Review

Sreehari Nair | Rediff: 3.5/5
If Manto, the film, falls short of being a masterpiece, it's ironically because Nandita Das the filmmaker does not quite crack the Manto code herself: she doesn't quite see her subject with the same wholeness that Manto saw his people. This imperfection in the film, in a way, becomes the greatest tribute to Manto ... Full Review

Anna MM Vetticad | FirstPost: 3.5/5
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the best he has ever been in Nandita Das' stirring portrait of a genius ... Full Review

Devansh Sharma | FirstPost: 3.5/5
Nandita retains this honesty, and even celebrates it. She also spells out the consequences brutally. Her latest piece of work may not be for the masses, but that in no way robs her film of any merit ... Full Review

Meena Iyer | DNAIndia: 3/5
As one said at the start, Nandita got her casting correct, but her characterisation of the writer needed more in-depth study ... Full Review

Suhani Singh | India Today: 3.5/5
Nandita Das film is a brilliant portrait of a self-destructive creator. Nawazuddin Siddiqui looks the part and for the most part, feels it too. But the real joy is to see its supporting characters make brief appearances ... Full Review

Uday Bhatia | Live Mint: 3.5/5
‘Manto’ is impassioned and handsomely mounted ... Full Review

Nandini Ramnath | Scroll: 3/5
An absorbing but incomplete portrait of the maverick writer, some stories are as crisp as they are powerful ... Full Review

Suparna Sharma | Deccan Chronicle: 3.5/5
Manto, examined only in juxtaposition. Das is able to create Manto’s world in Bombay that seems to be lived in happily, and one that comes apart when he moves to Lahore ... Full Review

Devesh Sharma | Filmfare: 4/5
All that aside, it's a faithful recreation of the life and times of one of Indian subcontinent's literary giants whose writings are still as relevant today as they were then ... Full Review

Rahul Desai | Film Companion: 3/5
Today, after recognizing when and how it might have been conceived – context – it becomes more than just a story; it becomes a voice, a time, and most importantly, a real person. Because for Manto, literature is merely the language of madness ... Full Review

Economic Times: 3.5/5
The film seamlessly weaves the writer's short stories into the narrative making it an intriguing watch. Manto is the magnificent tale of a man who challenged the status quo ... Full Review

Sriram Iyengar | Cinestaan: 3.5/5
This portrait of Manto is charming, engrossing, but not as provocative as his pen ... Full Review

IANS | India TV: 4.5/5
Nawazuddin Siddqui's film echoes Guru Dutt's 'Pyaasa'. Manto taps into every feeling and mood of his complex erudite character ... Full Review

Anwesha Madhukalya | Business Today: 2.5/5
Nawazuddin Siddiqui shines but the film barely scratches the surface ... Full Review

Vishal Verma | Glamsham: 4/5
Even after its share of flaws, MANTO keeps on haunting, probing and makes you wonder how the movie that talks about prejudice and mindset during 1947 still holds relevance ... Full Review

Ankur Pathak | The Huffington Post: 4/5
Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Film Beats With An Urgency That Captures Our Society's Moral Decline. At a time when religion has gone from the heart to the head, the relevance of Nandita Das's 'Manto' cannot be overstated ... Full Review

Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl | The Week: 4/5
Perhaps, the fact that the film is not a typical cradle-to-grave biopic, allows the audience to understand Manto and his works better ... Full Review

Tanul Thakur | The Wire: 4/5
'Manto' Is Not Only Worth Watching, It Is Also Worth Remembering. The makers of the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer have explored the reality of fiction like few others have ... Full Review

Vickey Lalwani | Spotboye: 4/5
Manto is another masterpiece after Mulk which stirs you with almost similar emotions, your caste and religion notwithstanding. Put your hands together for Nandita Das who set out to make this film and completed it with such finesse ... Full Review

Raya Ghosh | Peeping Moon: 3.5/5
Nawazuddin’s obscene dialoguebaazi indebts us to Manto. It poignantly transports to the 1940s for not just the exhibition of characters but also because of Zakir Hussain’s background score – it feels real-time ... Full Review

Ajit Duara | Open Magazine: 3.5/5
This is a movie well worth watching. Nawazuddin is terrific as Saadat ... Full Review

Johnson Thomas | Free Press Journal: 3.5/5
It may not be as wounding as Firaaq But the depth and affect are just as strong and hurtful ... Full Review

Meetu | Wogma: 3/5
A dispassionate narration might seem like an unbiased view but comes across as dry. It’s still a decent watch to get a glimpse of the man’s life ... Full Review