My Name is Radha

(Penguin Petit)

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When a movie is being made, there is usually more drama happening behind the scenes than on screen. And Manto got to experience this first hand when he was employed with a film company whose current production was Ban Ki Sundri. While Raj Kishore, the hunk from Rawalpindi, was cast as the hero—a man Manto had had long-standing reservations about—there were rumours about getting a new girl for the part of the vamp. As if on cue, in walked Miss Neelam, a charming new face.

As a writer with not much to do on a film set and as an actor who has to wait for long hours, Manto and young Neelam developed an instant friendship, talking about everything and nothing. Things, however, took an intriguing turn when Neelam confessed to the ‘silliness’ she seemed to be developing for her very married, very chaste co-star Raj Kishore.

The women in Manto’s stories have always been fascinatingly complex and Neelam is no different. Charming, entertaining, and way ahead of its times—as most of Manto’s stories are—My Name is Radha is a classic Manto.