Kunal Kohli praises the movie ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ (Image source: IMDb and Instagram)
Director Kunal Kohli is back with another honest review and this time of Imtiaz Ali’s Partition drama, ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ which emerged as a sleeper surprise at the box office.
The film has won praise from both the audience and the industry for its performances and craft, and Kohli’s latest review adds to the growing chorus with the director going as far as calling it Imtiaz Ali’s “best work” to date.
Kunal Kohli says Main Vaapas Aaunga is Imtiaz Ali’s best film
Sharing a video on Instagram, Kunal Kohli spoke about the film’s deep personal resonance with him. He said, “I have just seen the film Main Vaapas Aaunga and the film left a huge impact on me. My aunt and father used to talk a lot about Partition and a lot of it was in this film.”
They were talking about its horrors and its subsequent effects. And of course there were relatives who never talked about it, which also appears in the film.
The love story is really very innocent, pure and beautiful. This is the best franchise business. He showed love so beautifully, the news at that time was so slow, things were moving so slowly. Whereas today, news and information travel very quickly. At that time, they had to go through this huge process of division, finding out what happened to people, making decisions, and never forgiving themselves or rather people will never forgive you.”
Kohli went on to praise the writing and the cast, saying, “The nuances and layers that Imtiaz brought to the film through his writing. Everyone’s performances – how can you single out any one actor? Naseer, who has given some of the best performances in Hindi cinema, has done it again. This will be one of Naseer’s best performances of his career; he was so good. Rajat Kapoor – what a wonderful performance, and he was so great.” She spoke about the differences in the family.
We were not all from Suraj Barjatya families. We all have problems in our families, things you don’t forgive or understand to your parents. This was directed very beautifully by Imtiaz and all the actors in the family.”
Kunal Kohli praises the cast Nasir al-Din Shah rajat kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh , Vidang Rena and Sharvari
Kohli went on to highlight the band’s performance, saying, “Rajat Kapoor especially worried about his father and slowly changed and tried to understand him.
Diljit too – what a performer; The layers he brings to his performances. Sharvari, Fidan – beautiful. Everyone did a great job.”
The scenes that shocked Kunal Kohli the most
Without giving away major spoilers, Kohli pointed out two specific scenes that left a lasting impression on him, one of which, he says, will remain in his mind as a nightmare. In the first scene, he shared a personal family connection to the moment, “One of the scenes that shocked me the most – without spoilers – I heard another version of it that my aunt and grandparents told me.
The women on the train were taking poison; When people come to attack, they take poison and kill themselves.
But in this movie, the way the grandmother shot the scene, it shakes you to the core. It will give me nightmares. “He hits hard.”In the second scene, which involves Diljit Dosanjh’s character confronting his father, Kohli said: “There was another scene when Diljit kept asking his father: ‘Tell us what happened to the women.’
“All you’re going to get out of this is hatred between two religions and two sects,” he says, and I don’t think it was about that. There is a lot of dialogue that was thrown in casually but meant a lot. The film is definitely worth a second and third viewing.
I’m taking my daughter, she’s only 15, but I want her to watch the movie and understand what happened. “It gave me the truth even though I heard these stories from my grandparents.”Kohli concluded his review with unreserved praise for the director, saying: “It is important for everyone to watch this film, to understand the romance and news of the time. Imtiaz, hats off – I love you, what a film you have made. This is your best film.”
About ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’
“Main Vaapas Aaunga” traces the journey of a 95-year-old man who suffers a stroke while trying to travel to Pakistan. As fragments of his memory begin to return, his grandson slowly unravels the story of a life that existed before Partition, revealing long-buried relationships, heartbreak and the lasting impact of history.
Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film is the director’s fifth collaboration with composer AR Rahman, after their previous work together in Rockstar, Highway, Tamasha and Amar Singh Chamkila.
The film stars Diljit Dosanjh as Nirveer Singh, Naseeruddin Shah as Ishar Singh, Vedang Raina as Kino/Ishar Singh Grewal, and Sharvari as Afsana/Jiah. The supporting cast includes Anjana Sukhani, Banita Sandhu, Sanjay Suri, Rajat Kapoor and Nikhat Khan.According to Sacnilk, the film has grossed Rs 51.51 crore nett domestically with the global collection at Rs. 77.64 Crores.
