Imtiaz Ali is known for making films that run in two different timelines. And he has always managed to do this effortlessly. His latest film, Main Vaapas Aaunga, follows the same theme. It is a pre-partition romance story, juxtaposed against a modern-day couple, who aren’t able to put a label on their relationship. Main Vaapas Aaunga has all the essential elements of an Imtiaz Ali film. There is romance, yearning, and forces separating two lovers. But is his latest work as transcendental as others? Read our Main Vaapas Aaunga movie review to know.

Main Vaapas Aaunga movie review: A story of partition, love, and longing

As the story opens, we meet Ishar Grewal (Naseeruddin Shah). He seems to be stern, fearsome, and very adamant about going to Sargodha, which now exists on the other side of the border. His failing health takes him back to pre-partition India. His dementia has brought to the surface the memories of his young self, played by Vedang Raina. And he remembers nothing of the partition or his family. All he remembers is Jiya (Sharvari), a Muslim girl he was madly in love with. His declining health brings Nirvair (Diljit Dosanjh), his grandson, back to India from London. When Ishar rambles about Sargodha and a government college, only Nirvair tries to connect the dots and wants to understand what his grandfather is trying to say. In these broken conversations, a love story buried under decades of silence and trauma begins to surface.

Against this intense and passionate love story is Nirvair’s messed-up love life. He is commitment-phobic. All he does is jump from one thing to another, whether it’s love, jobs, or anything else.

Main Vaapas Aaunga should be celebrated for multiple reasons. The fact that Imtiaz Ali dared to make a film in this polarised political climate deserves applause. Instead of villainising any community, the film tells us everybody is equally guilty. Everybody has blood on their hands. What makes Main Vaapas Aaunga so familiar yet new is that it doesn’t solely focus on the act of partition, the violence, and the hatred, but rather the people affected by it. It gives a new form to the post-partition trauma. It focuses on the unhealed trauma that the people who had to witness that gruesome period carry with them and unintentionally pass on.

The cast makes a good film even better

Naseeruddin Shah is simply extraordinary here. Playing a man whose mind is unravelling, he never once goes for the obvious or the dramatic. Every little flicker of recognition, every moment where confusion gives way to sudden clarity, it feels completely real. You are not watching an actor perform dementia. You are watching a man live it. It is one of the finest performances you will see in an Indian film this year, period.

Diljit Dosanjh, reuniting with Imtiaz Ali after Amar Singh Chamkila, is genuine as Nirvair. He is the audience’s way into this story, and Dosanjh makes sure you never lose your footing. Vedang Raina, playing the younger Ishar in the flashback sequences, holds his own impressively alongside Sharvari. Their romance is tender and devastating, carrying the emotional weight of an entire era on its shoulders. Both actors have done a tremendous job of portraying the yearning as well as the fear of what lies ahead.

What the film could have done better is explore Nirvair and his girlfriend’s relationship. We know nothing about them except that they both are commitment-phobic. Since Ishar and Nirvair’s stories are meant to run parallel, the latter’s love life deserved more.

Overall, Main Vaapas Aaunga will make for a perfect weekend watch if you love romance, partition stories, or just want to witness the depth of human emotions.

Stay for the end credits scene. It will make you uncomfortable, but you must watch it nonetheless.

Can you watch Main Vaapas Aaunga with family? If your family enjoys a sentimental movie that can make you cry, this will make for a good weekend watch.

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