Two sides of the same coin

Sonal Sehgal is busy promoting her film Mantostan, which is based on celebrated writer Saadat Hasan Manto’s works. But even as she is busy with her film, the actress insists that Mantostan is completely different from Nandita Das’ Manto.

Sonal, who is aware that Nandita’s film is still in the making, says she is herself looking forward to watching it.

“Since Nandita has established herself as a competent director, the audience is eagerly waiting for the film to release — even I am! Das’ also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is one of the best actors of the generation,” the actress says. She also points out to the differences in the two films. Although stemming from the same source, the films are not all that similar. “The difference is that Nandita’s film is a biopic on the writer, whereas in our film, there is no Manto — the film is based on his stories,” she explains.

The actress, who is playing the role of Kalwant Kaur from Manto’s Thanda Gosht, is excited to be a part of Mantostaan, which is an amalgamation of Santo’s four short stories Khol Do, Thanda Ghosht, Aakhri Salute and Assignment.

Sonal, who is still trying to make a mark in the showbiz, accepts the fact that the industry is star-driven. However, with the independent cinema growing, the star influence will hopefully die down. “The industry is star driven, unfortunately. But, the independent cinema is growing. Actors who are keen on making good cinema finally have another medium opening,” says the actress. “The star- driven industry can keep doing what they are doing and we will do what we are doing.”

The actress started her career on television gaining popularity with shows like Saara Akaash and Hotel Kingston. Sonal then made her debut on the big screen with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayein.

She, however, has no plans of returning to TV as she feels it’s become regressive. “These days, the trend isn’t of saas-bahu serials anymore; it is of naagins. This I feel is very regressive. I am definitely not going back there,” she promises.

While isn’t too psyched to return to television, Sonal is keen on exploring the web. “I am interested in digital series since they explore a wide variety of subjects. With digital, the quality is in your hand and one has more time to themselves since there is no urgency to release the episodes,” she explains.

Mantostaan is slated to release on May 5.