Looking forward to see Nandita's version of Manto: Hansal Mehta

Director Hansal Mehta, whose project on noted writer Sadat Hasan Manto could not take off, is looking forward to see how Nandita Das has approached the author's life.

Mehta had started working on the script with actor Rajkummar Rao but the director could not find producers for the movie and eventually moved on to "Aligarh".

Das' version features Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Manto and focuses on his years in Mumbai.

"Both Nandita Das and I were working on the 'Manto' script at the same time. She had called me saying she is also making a film on 'Manto'. I told her to go ahead and do it. I told her that I would make something else. I was anyways not getting producers for it," Mehta told PTI.

"Immediately after 'Shahid', I was going to make 'Manto' with Rajkummar (Rao). We had done a photo shoot with him. But it did not happen as we were not able to find producers....The scale, the budget at that time was not feasible," he added.

When asked if he was disheartened that the project could not become a reality, the director said, "I see it philosophically, as whatever happens just happens. Nandita was destined to make 'Manto' and I was destined to make 'Aligarh'."