“Naseeruddin Shah Lifts a Weak Partition Drama with Main Vaapas Aaunga”

Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga is a mournful, ambitious partition drama that blends romance, memory and political trauma, but its emotional force is often undercut by heavy-handed writing and overt sermonising. The film follows Nirvair, played by Diljit Dosanjh, a privileged young man from Amritsar who drifts through life in London, unable to hold a job or commit to his girlfriend, Kaveri. His restlessness is contrasted with the story of Kinnu, a 17-year-old in Sargodha in the months before August 1947, whose innocent love story unfolds against the gathering violence of partition.

The review highlights how Ali uses the structure of a modern-day, dissatisfied man listening to an older generation’s memories, a familiar device from his earlier films. In this case, Nirvair’s open-mic routines and conversations are used to “learn” about partition and explain its horrors to the audience. But the film is criticised for speaking too plainly, especially when it reduces the sexual violence faced by women during partition to blunt phrases and moral lessons. While the film is sincere in intent, the screenplay is described as scattered, constantly pausing to make points rather than letting the story breathe.

A major strength of the film, according to the review, is Naseeruddin Shah’s performance as the elderly Ishar Singh Grewal, the older version of Kinnu. Shah plays a man haunted by memories, trauma and unrealised desire, trapped between the present and the past. His scenes of confusion and dementia are singled out as some of the film’s most affecting moments. Through Ishar’s rambling recollections, Nirvair gradually pieces together a buried family history and begins to understand that closure may lie across the border in Pakistan.

The review also notes problems in how the women are written. Banita Sandhu’s Kaveri is treated as more of a narrative device than a fully realised person, while Sharvari Wagh’s Jiya is described as a familiar “manic-pixie dream girl” figure, charming but thinly drawn. Vedang Raina, as the young Kinnu, is praised for bringing nervousness and sincerity to the role, while Dolly Ahluwalia is noted for a powerful, grim scene involving the fate of women left behind during partition.

Despite its flaws, the film is said to contain several moving passages: young love, family memory, AR Rahman’s music, and the haunting image of an elder wanting the shame of partition buried with him. Yet the review argues that the film never fully rises above its obvious symbolism. Its ending, which expands into a music video linking partition imagery with footage from Gaza and South Sudan, is seen as earnest but also self-conscious and grandstanding.

At 146 minutes, Main Vaapas Aaunga is presented as a film that understands how to make viewers grieve partition’s wounds, but not always how to move beyond them.