Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has opened up about the emotional foundation of his upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga, a sweeping romantic drama set against the backdrop of partition. During an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the director spoke about why it was important to tell this story now and how the film focuses not on violence, but on the love and memories carried by survivors of partition.
The film follows the journey of a severely ill patriarch, played by Naseeruddin Shah, whose final wish is to return to his pind in Sargodha, now located in Pakistan. Diljit Dosanjh essays the role of his grandson, who attempts to understand his grandfather’s past and fulfil his emotional final wish. The narrative also moves 78 years into the past, where a younger version of Naseeruddin Shah’s character, played by Vedang Raina, is shown sharing an intense yet incomplete love story with Sharvari’s character before partition tears them apart.
Speaking about the emotional roots of the story, Imtiaz Ali said, “Firstly, I’d like to say that the reason for making this film now is precisely that this is the last standing generation of people who have gone through partition. It was very important for us to make this film now to say that there is a lot of love that they carried in their hearts when they crossed the border.”
The filmmaker further reflected on how conversations around Partition often focus on trauma and violence, while many survivors now remember tenderness and affection from that time.
“There have been movies about violence, and there are movies that are heavily based on the partition, but there is also so much love that they have carried. In fact, now that 78 years have happened after partition, most of the people that I met, the survivors, they only talk about love. They talk about tender things. They have perhaps forgotten the heaviness,” he shared.
Imtiaz also explained how memories of ordinary life have stayed with those who lived through Partition. “They remember their friends. They remember that tree in the yard. They remember a certain doll that they wanted to carry. So I feel that to talk about that is important, because ultimately what sustains us is these loving memories that we hold almost like a secret in our hearts. So the film is a bit like that,” he added.
Produced by Birla Studios, Applause Entertainment, and Window Seat Films, Main Vaapas Aaunga is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on June 12, 2026.
The post EXCLUSIVE: “Partition survivors now only talk about love,” says Imtiaz Ali as he reveals why Main Vaapas Aaunga had to be made now appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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