Manto

Manto, Nandita Das’ second directorial outing, is an Indo-French co-production (Viacom18 Motion Pictures) that brings to the screen the final tumultuous years of the legendary Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto’s life and those of the countries — India and Pakistan . The biopic earned critical acclaim in Cannes in May this year.

It stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Manto. The film is a mirror to our prejudices, fears, morality, says the director. Like Manto wrote, “My stories are a mirror to society. But if you don’t like what you see, then how is that my fault.”

Manmarzian

Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyan, a romantic drama featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal and Taapsee Pannu, will be accorded a Gala world premiere at TIFF. This is the second year running that Kashyap makes the trip to Toronto. He was in TIFF last year with Mukkabaaz. Manmarziyan, jointly produced by Eros International, Phantom Films and Aanand L Rai’s Colour Yellow Productions, is set in Amritsar and follows the story of this spirited girl Rumi… stuck between a complicated love triangle between Vicky (DJ) and Robbie – an NRI from London.

Bulbul Can Sing

Rima Das’s Bulbul Can Sing presents a visceral coming-of-age drama about a young girl living in rural India, fighting her way through love and loss as she figures out who she really is. After winning hearts with the National Award winner feature, ‘Village Rockstars’, the writer-director-producer, Rima Das will return to TIFF with this film. “It’s a huge honour to return to TIFF after Village Rockstars and start the journey of my next feature, Bulbul Can Sing, which will have its world premiere in the competition category – Contemporary World Cinema. It’s like homecoming for me,” says Das.

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

Vasan Bala’s Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (produced by Ronnie Screwvala.) is a Bollywood-infused action film that tells the story of a young man – quite literally born with the ability to feel no pain – who strikes out on a quest to vanquish 100 foes.

The film will be screened in the Midnight Madness section of the festival where movies in action, horror, shock and fantasy genre are placed. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is the second film from Bala, whose directorial debut was Peddlers.

The Sweet Requiem

In a follow-up to 2005’s Dreaming Lhasa, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam return with a story of a young Tibetan woman grappling with living in exile, revealing a side of the refugee crisis we rarely get to see.

Producer & Co-Director Ritu Sarin and Writer & Co-Director Tenzing Sonam have been making films for over thirty years. Their films are mostly documentaries but also include a number of video installations and two narrative features – Dreaming Lhasa (2006) and now, The Sweet Requiem.