It has been just a week since Naseeruddin Shah transformed himself into JRD Tata, the brain behind the Tata Group, in the film Made In India: The Titan Story directed by Robbie Grewal. In Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga, this versatile actor has once again managed to do the impossible — he plays Ishar Grewal, a man dying due to memories of love lost during the tragic events of 1947 Partition of India.
Naseeruddin Shah turns 76 years old in a couple of days and he has been performing for over five decades. Nevertheless, Main Vaapas Aaunga shows us that we must never underestimate such an actor’s capabilities.
Rating- 3/5
Imtiaz Ali’s Most Mature Film
In the footsteps of another Punjabi actor Amar Singh Chamkila, Imtiaz Ali comes back to the big screen with probably his most well-rounded movie till date. He chooses to depict a world where old-fashioned love is celebrated despite the prevalence of temporary relationships. The story involves Diljit Dosanjh playing the role of Nirvair, a young man who works in London but comes to India for spending time with his dying granddad, Ishar.
Ishar is suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia but still remains obsessed with his first and only love story that happened almost eighty years ago. As Dadaji loses touch with the reality because of his broken memories, Nirvair starts questioning himself about love and direction. He works as a day engineer but at night, he performs as a comedian and remains afraid of commitments.
A Love Story Torn Apart by Partition
The storyline alternates between the present day in Delhi and pre-partition Sargodha in united Punjab. In those days, Ishar’s character name was Keenu, an actor who delivered his lines in a manner filled with sincerity and innocence, which is actually a hint towards Sargodha’s nickname as the citrus capital of Pakistan.
In Punjab, where the Radcliffe Line did not separate the people, all Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities lived harmoniously as neighbors. In the gardens, young, innocent, and full of hopes and dreams Keenu fell in love with Afsana Shaikh, portrayed by a commanding Sharvari.
Neither Keenu nor Afsana could imagine that such a tragedy awaited them. Religion would never stand between two lovers. They knew nothing of the horrors that awaited them because neither of them could know anything about them. The tragedy here is not in events but rather in narration.
A Quiet Act of Resistance
As films continue to grow more familiar with tales that are constructed on lines of division and othering, Main Vaapas Aaunga opts for empathy. Just placing the narrative of love in front of the backdrop of Partition is almost a form of resistance. With the help of Naseeruddin Shah and Diljit Dosanjh, Imtiaz Ali makes you lose your heart before putting it back together.
Ali raises questions regarding belonging and identity in the movie. “Ye meri jagah hai,” they say, and talk about having the choice to choose their belonging. But then Ali goes further. What would be the fate of someone who has been displaced from the place he called home all his life? What is justice to people who have never committed an act against anyone but have seen their relatives killed and molested? How does a young Sikh man come to terms with the acts of violence carried out by his fellow Sikhs?
Sharvari Emerges as the Film’s Biggest Surprise
Though the veterans perform everything that one can expect of them, the real treat of the movie lies in Sharvari’s portrayal of Afsana. She combines fragility and strength in an extremely confident manner. Her role in the movie is complemented very nicely by Vedang Raina, who plays a boy whose soul is drained from him by circumstances not under his control.
Imtiaz Ali’s Violent Film
“There must be something terrible that happened in Aurat – I can’t even think about it.” This captures perfectly the representation of violence during the Partition era in the film. While it can be argued that Main Vaapas Aaunga may be one of the most violent films made by Imtiaz Ali, much of the effect that it delivers lies in what it fails to portray.
The odd attempts at environmental conservation aside, the film does not get distracted from what it is trying to achieve emotionally. All things considered, what the film is mostly interested in doing is evoking emotions among the audience.
A Conversation Across Generations
In essence, it serves as an exchange of views between generations. On the one hand, there are those people who lived through Partition and bear within themselves the indescribable pain, which they usually carry to their graves. On the other hand, there are the new generations willing to comprehend how it is possible that hate still exists.
Supporting Cast Of Main Vaapas Aaunga
The supporting cast adds to the reality of this world immensely. Among others, one should mention the performances of Rajat Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia, Vinod Nagpal, Manish Chaudhari, Anjana Sukhani, as well as the usual reliable Danish Pandor and Mashhoor Amrohi. Indeed, Imtiaz Ali used to say that a lot of his films are appreciated only years after the release, with Laila Majnu being the most obvious case of such. It would be nice if it does not apply to Main Vaapas Aaunga.
