Cinema VinesIn the new film Main Vaapas Aaunga, director Imtiaz Ali brings a quiet, heartbreaking look at the Partition of India through the eyes of a 95‑year‑old man who still speaks of Sargodha as if it were a neighbour. The story follows Nirvair Grewal, an NRI who returns to India when his grandfather Keenu, played by Naseeruddin Shah, falls ill. Keenu’s dementia blurs the line between the present and his memories of a life in Sargodha, a town that now lies across the border in Pakistan.
Keenu’s recollections focus on his youth and on Jiya, a Muslim girl he loved before the borders were drawn. The film spends time on their simple romance, showing the two young men and women enjoying each other’s company without the fanfare of grand gestures. Their innocence is what makes the eventual rupture so painful, as history forces them to part. Ali’s depiction of pre‑Partition Punjab is subtle: Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs coexist without their differences becoming a plot point, making the later division all the more tragic.
As Keenu’s memory fades, the parts that matter most remain, and his refusal to accept the new border becomes a central emotional thread. Shah delivers a layered performance, shifting from humor to irritability to a sudden, almost childlike yearning for Sargodha whenever Jiya’s name surfaces. Grewal’s quieter role as Nirvair is effective, portraying a grandson trying to understand a grandfather whose past he never knew.
Vedang Raina and Sharvari play the younger Keenu and Jiya, respectively. While their chemistry may not feel fully lived in at first, the simplicity of their relationship ultimately serves the film’s narrative. The screenplay’s strength lies in its focus on ordinary love and the personal cost of history, rather than in grand political commentary.
Overall, Main Vaapas Aaunga offers a tender, intimate look at how Partition reshaped lives, with a story that is as much about memory and longing as it is about the geopolitical realities that once divided a shared homeland.
