Lihaaf trailer: Tannishtha Chatterjee's film will remind you of Manto

The trailer of Tannishtha Chatterjee's upcoming film Lihaaf is out. The one-minute clip takes you back to the time of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's film Manto.

In the role of Ismat Chugtai, Tannishtha Chatterjee gets summoned by the court. She has been charged with writing inappropriate content in her novels.

For the uninitiated, Saadat Hasan Manto was also charged for 'obscene writing' in his novels. The only way Lihaaf is different, is that it deals with the LGBTQ+ writing. Meanwhile, Manto spoke about the murder and abuse in the story Thanda Ghosht.

Watch the trailer of Lihaaf here:

In a bold attempt, Ismat wrote about an unusual relationship between a child and a woman in her novel named Lihaaf. The women in her story are likely a part of a brothel, which she also addresses in the court as 'mere kahaani ki ladkiyaan shaayad shareef gharane ki nahi hai (the women in my story most probably don't belong to a respected family).'

Another point the court addresses is the number of lovers the women have in their lives. The story definitely addresses the taboo in the earlier ages and forces us to reflect upon how times have changed today and whether we have really progressed.

Rahat Kazmi has directed and acted in the film. Lihaaf also stars Anushka Sen in the lead role.

It is yet unclear whether Lihaaf, like Manto, will be set during the India-Pakistan divide. In fact, there is no clarity on whether the story is set in India or Pakistan itself.