Hailed as one of the greatest story-tellers of all time, Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) has long been a favourite among theatre playwrights. As director Salim Arif puts it, &ldquo;There was no one else who wrote about the underdog in such graphic detail.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/jul/Arre-O-Henry.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 405px; " /> A still from the play Arre O Henry After wanting to stage a play about Manto and his stories for a long time, Arif is now presenting a play titled Manto Mantra, which will premiere at Prithvi Theatre, tomorrow. Also, premiering in Mumbai on Friday is another play by Salim Arif, titled Arre O Henry. It is based on four short stories by American writer O Henry, which have been adapted to the Indian context by Gulzar. u00a0As a Hindi theatre director, Arif believes that Manto was one of the greatest writers of his time but was also one of the most misunderstood ones. &ldquo;He wrote about prostitutes and the underprivileged in great detail. He looked at the chaos that prevailed in society. But he was highly misunderstood. Through my play I hope to make clear some of his thoughts and ideas,&rdquo; says Arif. Manto Mantra will feature a collage of scenes, stories and writings by Manto. &ldquo;There will be times when the character of Manto will be on-stage reading some of his works. The play will offer a glimpse into Manto&rsquo;s life, thoughts and ideas. He has provided us with extraordinary content and since this is his 100th birth anniversary I wanted to bring out this play,&rdquo; explains Arif. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/jul/Manmohan-Singh_4.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 407px; " /> Manmohan Singh with his Manto tribute tees O Henry gets an Indian connect &ldquo;Gulzar saab is a fantastic humour writer; his humour fascinated me and Arre O Henry is a presentation of that on stage,&rdquo; says Arif. The play includes Gulzar&rsquo;s version of four short stories written by O Henry. Gulzar had written the stories a while ago and for Arif&rsquo;s play, he adapted it for the stage. Nuskha is a story about two men playing cards with one of them playing a much bigger game. Bal Bal Bache is about a barber who has a cure for baldness while Shadi Kara Lo is about two men trying to make quick money. The final story, Madam, is about a lady with fine taste. &ldquo;Gulzar saab and I have worked together a lot. He was more than happy to adapt it for stage and we were part of the creation process together,&rdquo; adds Arif. <h2 class="footer_style"> On Manto Mantra on July 17, 9 pm; Arre O Henry on July 20, 6 pm and 9 pm; at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. Call 26149546</h2> Wear a Manto T-shirt If you are a Saadat Hasan Manto fan and believe in wearing your heart on your sleeve, these T-shirts with the imprint of Manto might interest you. You can buy one with the author&rsquo;s portrait on it with the line &lsquo;Zindagi Nakabil-A-Bardasht&rsquo; or the one with the names of his famous works including Bu and Toba Tek Singh on it. Designed by Manmohan Singh and Harish Nambiar, these t-shirts are tribute to Manto during his centenerary birth celebrations. <h2 class="footer_style"> For Rs 250 onwards AT JMV Lifestyle Branded Store HQ, Nakshatra Mall, Dadar (W).u00a0</h2>

Watch the genius of Saadat Hasan Manto unfold on stage as well as Gulzar's humour-tinged rendition of O Henry's stories in the same week. Director Salim Arif will be presenting two of his plays for the first time to Mumbai's theatre lovers

Manto and Gulzar make magic

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Manto and Gulzar make magic

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