Nandita Das directorial 'Manto' which was premiered at TIFF 2018 and also got its theatrical release in India as on 21st September, was unfortunately banned in Pakistan. The film was a biopic based on acclaimed Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto who migrated from Mumbai to Lahore played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

An upset Das tweeted, "Disappointed that Manto will not be seen in theatres in Pakistan. I was keen as he belongs to both countries equally. Viacom18 Motion Pictures Namrata Goyal," to which Pakistan's information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry replied "I am trying to pursue importers to bring this movie to Pak, I hope someone will definitely take risk of showing a less commercial film to the viewers." 

While thanking the minister Das replied, "Shukriya @fawadchaudhry #FreeSpeech."  

Earlier Das has talked about the ban of her film Manto in the neighbouring country and appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan via an open letter. "I am grateful to the activists, writers, artists, and concerned citizens in Pakistan, who have spontaneously come together and signed an open letter to their PM appealing..." she wrote.

The filmmaker also shared the link of the letter, which has been signed by 16 people including Manto's daughters Nighat, Nusrat and Nuzhat. In October this year, the Pakistan Film Producers Association (PFPA) demanded a complete ban on the release of Indian films in the country.