Tahir Raj Bhasin — the cool baddie in Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani — does an about-turn in Manto, playing yesteryear Bolly star Shyam and Manto’s best friend in Nandita Das’s Manto, that stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the celebrated writer. Tahir: One of the great things I’ve heard about Shyam is that he looks straight out of The Great Gatsby world. Priyanka Roy: Shyam was a suave film star of the time, a ladies’ man who loved the good life. Tahir: Shyam brought out the best in Manto; that’s what I gauged when I read the script and whatever little material we had. Tahir: Shyam was Manto’s confidante and he was never overawed by the celebrity status that Manto enjoyed.

Source: The Telegraph September 20, 2018 17:15 UTC