How Saadat Hasan Manto inspired Samit Kakkad’s Bollywood debut

Samit Kakkad has directed films like Aayna Ka Bayna and Half Ticket in Marathi before debuting in Bollywood.

Marathi filmmaker Samit Kakkad is set to make his Bollywood directorial debut with a film titled AscharyaF**kIt, inspired by the writings of the late revered writer Saadat Hasan Manto.

The film is about an unlikely lovestory.

The film revolves around an unlikely love story where desire and greed intertwines the lives of a Bollywood star, his chauffeur, a prostitute and her pimp, read a statement. “I wanted to bring Manto’s complex characters to life on 70 mm but also wanted to tell a story that will keep contemporary audiences engaged. At the heart of it, AscharyaF**kIt is an unconventional love story and it is the idea of love that ultimately binds everything in the film,” Kakkad said.

He has attempted to add a contemporary touch to Manto’s characters. “Manto wrote about characters on the fringes of society and captured their world and their voice. The hope was to retain the spirit of Manto while updating it for the audience of today. ‘AscharyaF**kIt’ is in essence about worlds colliding. The film is about the Mumbai of today. It is not a heightened version that is depicted in other films, but a more ‘truer’ version of the city,” added Kakkad, who has earlier directed Marathi films Aayna Ka Bayna and Half Ticket.