COLLECTIVE MADNESS in collaboration with UPSTAGE PRODUCTION presents THEATRE GARAGE PROJECT production EK MULAQAT MANTO SE. Conceived & performed by Ashwath Bhatt. Creative Producer Maneesh Verma

Meet Manto as he delves into his life, childhood, family & friends, facing persecution, self-ridicule, depression, being broke, helplessness, drinking, Hindi cinema, satire, irony, hypocrisy, sadness, strife and moral decay.

Saadat Hasan Manto is an Indo-Pakistani writer known for his irreverent writing, holding up a mirror to the society especially in ugly times. He is hailed as one of Urdu's finest & most controversial writers. The performance is based on articles written by Manto and explores his life, times he lived in and the social changes, he witnessed at the time of Indias Partition. Ashwath Bhatt plays Manto who engages with the audience in person, trying to answer the biggest question Why I write what I write.

The texts used in the play are Manto, Main Afsana Kyun Kar Likhta hoon, Khol Do, Kal Sawere Jo Meri Ankh Khuli and Deewaroon Pe Likhna. Begum Akhtars ghazals have been used at a few places to highlight the pathos of Mantos life.

Running successfully for last 10 years with more than 40 shows. Internationally, its been performed at Hakaya Festival (Amman Jordan), Luton Mela & The Hat Factory (Luton), Norden Farm Art Centre (Maidenhead, UK), Nehru Centre (London), Indian Embassy (Berlin, Germany), World Performing Arts Festival (Lahore, Pakistan).

Nationally, travelled to Jammu, Srinagar, Kolkata, Siliguri, Behrampore-West Bengal, Guwahati-Assam, Gangtok-Sikkim, Delhi, Madurai, Bangalore, Amritsar, Lucknow, Bareilly, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon-Haryana & Patna-Bihar.

About the Artists

ASHWATH BHATT Worked with acclaimed filmmakers like Meghna Gulzar (Raazi), Mira Nair (The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Vishal Bhardwaj (Haider), Kabir Khan (Phantom), Oscar winner Danish Tanovic (Tigers), Rahul Dholakia (Lamhaa), Ajita Suchitraveera (Ballad of Rustom), Ashiq Abu (Gangster), Buddhadeb Dasgupta, etc. Upcoming films are A R Rahman (99 Songs), Nandita Das (Manto), Abhijit Kokate (Rakkosh). Presently shooting for Dharma Productions Kesari with Akshay Kumar.

He was the first recipient of prestigious Inlaks foundation scholarship for Theatre / Acting. He is a visiting faculty to various prestigious institutions in India & abroad. He has worked with reputed theatre companies like Oxfordshire theatre Company- Oxford, GYLPT- Greenwich, Flying Fish Theatre Company- Berlin etc. He has done plays for BBC worldwide and has been part of a collaboration with National Theatre, Mannheim/Germany. He has acted under the direction of various Indian and Foreign theatre luminaries and conducted workshops on various aspects of acting in England, Germany, France, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan, and India. He is on the selection panel of LAMDA in India as well as Inlaks Theatre India Awards which is his brainchild.

He is widely known for his work on 'Red Nose Clowning' theatre form in India. In 2007, he established non-profit trust Theatre Garage Project. The philosophy behind his work is 'Finding something in nothing'.

He recently directed play Paladin' based on the best-selling book 'When Breath Becomes Air' by Dr. Paul Kalanithi.

The show is supported by Actor's Cult and Behroopiya Entertainers.