Right from the movie's first shot, writer-director Nandita Das tells us what kind of film this is going to be. The shock and pain of Partition, suddenly having to leave friends and a city he loved is driving Manto to madness, but within his own mind, unknown to the people around him. To reflect this state, Das and her editor Sreekar Prasad effectively weave 5 of Manto's stories into the narrative.