Kaleidoscope

EK HAAN BRINGS MANTO ALIVE

by Prof. Dr. Avinash Kolhe November 2 2026, 12:00 am Estimated Reading Time: 3 mins, 36 secs

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Manto in Pakistan by Prof Dr Avinash Kolhe: A review of Ek Haan, the Hindi-Urdu play that brings Saadat Hasan Manto’s wit, writings, Partition-era disquiet and uncompromising gaze to the stage in a compelling encounter. 

Though Manto was a somewhat controversial figure in his lifetime, today he is a highly revered and widely discussed writer and a literary icon on both sides of the Indo-Pak border. Of late, his life and writings have been subjected to close scrutiny. One such effort is the new Hindi-Urdu play ‘Ek Haan’, directed by Randhir Ranjan Roy and written by Neha Kargeti. In this unique play, the eponymous role of Manto is essayed by Shekhar Suman, while Suchitra Krishnamoorthi plays Wazira, a Kashmiri journalist. The play has been running to packed houses.

Manto: The Writer and His Times

Saadat Hasan Manto [1912-1955] was a writer, playwright and novelist from Punjab who heralded a new age in Urdu literature. His career spanned the pre-independence and post-independence years. He witnessed and participated in the freedom struggle, which promised freedom from everything wrong in our culture, before experiencing deep frustration at events in post-Independent Pakistan and the horrors of Partition. He was known for his quick wit and wisdom among readers across the subcontinent.

In the opening part of this play, Manto says in his inimitable style: ‘Aap agar khud hi badsoorat hain toh aaine ka kya kasoor hain (Why blame the mirror when you yourself are ugly)?’

Though he mainly wrote in Urdu, today his work is available in almost all important Indian languages and in English. Dramatic renditions of his stories are regularly staged all over India. As a progressive writer [taraqi pasand], it is no surprise that he was tried six times for allegedly obscene writings: three times under the British Raj and three times after Independence, but was never convicted (although some biographical accounts do report a conviction and fine in one Pakistani case).

Ek Haan: Fact, Fiction and Manto

Though the play is based on Manto, ‘Ek Haan’ is fictional. The location is Pakistan, and the period is the early 1950s. One day, Manto gets an unusual visitor: Wazira, a young journalist from India. She wants to interview Manto. This sets in motion a discussion between them about the past and the present. The conversation is the crux of the narrative, with the focus also being on some of Manto’s popular stories, such as Toba Tek Singh, Kali Salwaar and Thanda Gosht. It brings to light how Manto always wrote about the lives of the marginalised and about sections of society such as prostitutes, pimps, the mentally challenged and criminals. In the process, Manto exposed the double standards and hypocrisy of society.

Theatrical Craft and Contemporary Relevance

The 90-minute play weaves fact and fiction together to create a powerful impact. The dialogues are in chaste Urdu, so necessary to create authentic characters. These dialogues reminded me of Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah. Though it is a kind of historical play, it does touch upon current realities, where free speech and freedom of expression are under threat, as they were then.

It is top-class theatre, with superlative performances by Shekhar Suman and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, two veterans. Together, they create spellbinding theatre and are ably supported by Neha Kargeti, Vikas Tiwari and Amit Ghosh. The background singing is by Rekha Bharadwaj and Shahid Mallya. Kudos to director Randhir, who has used all these resources most ably and presented a highly riveting and enjoyable play.

About Manto

Saadat Hasan Manto remains one of the most influential and controversial Urdu writers of the Indian subcontinent. His unflinching portrayal of human frailty, social hypocrisy, sexuality and the devastating consequences of the 1947 Partition continues to resonate across India and Pakistan. Best known for landmark short stories such as Toba Tek Singh, Thanda Gosht and Khol Do, Manto challenged conventional morality and exposed the contradictions of supposedly respectable society. His writings, which brought marginalised lives into the literary mainstream, continue to inspire adaptations across theatre, cinema and literature.

Ek Haan, directed by Randhir Ranjan Roy and featuring Shekhar Suman and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, revisits Manto through an imagined encounter with an Indian journalist in post-Partition Pakistan, exploring his literary legacy, personal convictions and enduring relevance to contemporary debates on freedom of expression.