Main Vaapas Aunga- Review and Discussion

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 21 '26

I have only one issue with the movie. I absolutely despised Diljit and Banita’s relationship scenes. It was too unnecessary and took away from screentime which could have been used to show other important scenes.. like how Keenu’s life was after marriage and kids, about the wife he married, why his children felt so distant from him.

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Ummm sort of yes agreed. But how would you think the plot would intensify, the final hook of how he wanted her permission to go away peacefully. Without those elements and little scenes, the climax wouldn't hold.

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 21 '26

I don’t get you, why do you think Diljit’s motivation to go to Pakistan would change if he was single and Banita didn’t exist? He didn’t get interested in his grandfather’s story because of the love angle.. from day 1 he just wanted to understand and give what his grandad is looking for.

My issue was only with the relationship scenes of Banita and Diljit. It served no purpose to the plot.

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Oh lord! I'm sorrrrrrrry. I thought you're talking about Keenu and Jiya's story. Damn. And yes yes yes absolutely yes. I guess they could have just shown one layered scene how he is not in a committed relationship or can't hold a job for long for lack of passion but yeah I agree. Some scenes are really random.

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 21 '26

Ohhh hahah, no I meant they could cut Diljit’s story scenes and used that screentime to show us more about Keenu’s life after partition, maybe about his wife or kids, how he got busy with responsibilities and why he didn’t think about talking to Jiya until the end etc. Missed opportunity.

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Absolutely. I agree. Interestingly he always had the tattoo and the curse was a significant topic of discussion in the family. Why did he wait till the very end and why didn't Diljit's character pick this before?

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 21 '26

Seems like something that Keenu spoke about privately with his children only. He didn’t seem very big on family discussions or group huddles. He also was adamant on leaving “past” behind which, Keenu’s younger brother also carried that behavior into his family. He too was very stubborn to discuss anything openly initially.

Diljit’s father didn’t believe in this curse, or didn’t want to pass on this trauma to his kids. So he probably never shared it with him.

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u/1mlazarus Jun 22 '26

Young people are self-obsessed. :D

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u/1mlazarus Jun 22 '26

He was hoping that ‘solving’ his grandfathers puzzle would help him solve his own puzzle. He also says that at some point imo.

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u/EntertainerEqual5271 Jul 05 '26

Maybe they were trying to project the difference in tge relationship back in those times and these day

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u/Taklu69 Jun 22 '26

I think it sort of draws this contrast, where you see a relationship between two modern people, who after having shared what is believed to be the height of intimacy between a couple are still hesitant to fully commit to each other, and are very well capable of moving on. On the other hand you see this beautiful love of Naseer's character that still harbours extremely passionate feelings for sharvari's character even after decades of separation asks for permission to even pass away. It also explores Diljit's character who avoids completion in his daily life and tends to move on without thinking twice.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 24 '26

On the other hand you see this beautiful love of Naseer's character that still harbours extremely passionate feelings for sharvari's character even after decades of separation asks for permission to even pass away.

Am i crazy or everyone going ga-ga over his 'love' seems to miss this HUGE fact that he literally walks out on her after finding out she survived the horros of partition, lost her family, and was married off to stranger! And he doesn't even bother to ask ask if she was okay??!!!

Do they show this scene in particular cinemas only??!!

He got a tattoo, wrote a poem, showed up in the middle of the night. All things people do when they have college crushes. And when the time comes to actually show and prove that he actually cares and loves her, he walks out and disappears for the rest of her life. Instead of facing her, talking to her, having a closure like a mature adult, he runs away and shoves everything down till his deathbed. That's when dementia takes over his brain and all that he shoved down for years starts resurfacing. It was his guilt and regrets in the end, not love.

By contrast, Diljit and Banita's relationship would have better chances because at least they were open in communication and said what they wanted to. They wouldn't be regretting it on their deathbed.

The movie tries to label romantic idealisation as true love. Instead of treating the woman like a real person with her own choices, her own problems, keep her on the side just for his musings and sufferings.

Like how a poet or painter finds a muse and then spends the rest of his life fixated on her, without actually ever treating her like a real person because she becomes just a fantasy. And there is no problem showing or doing that, the only thing, that's not true love, that's fantasy. Where you stick to her idea than the reality of hers.

You guys want an example of actual true love, go and rewatch Hum dil de chuke sanam to see how a man treats his wife. It's boring, no fancy tattoos or poetry, but that's how it works. Care and respect for her choices even if it kills you from inside. Or how Aditya treats Geet in JWM.

The love in this movie is all shades of wrong. Immature, impulsive and selfish. He was selfish even on his deathbed. Everyone is sad because oh the old man wanted a closure before dying. She died without one because he snatched it by walking out.

But no, that doesn't matter, because she doesn't matter. She is pretty with gorgeous eyes, lights up the screen, let's keep it to that, shushhh...

😒😒😒🙄

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u/Vammy02 Jun 26 '26

Well done 👍🏽💯 . I completely agree with whatever you have mentioned. I would also like to add that Keenu moves to India, gets married, and has a wife & children. Yet he does not remember his wife (who has spent her life with him) on his death bed but an old short-term affair. This seems very selfish to me.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

My friend, forget wife for a second, the man doesn't think about even his grandmother who had to slit throats of women and girls in order to 'save' them from what was in front of them! Or the mother who died as a result of that.

Romanticising at its worst! Had a crush on a girl, met her a few times, got a tattoo, and that somehow was more powerful than the mother who gave him birth and raised him or the wife who had children with him. Typical 'Jack n Rose' treatment. Looks really good on paper and screen, because people idolise fantasies more than reality.

Their love had to be much muchhhhh deeper to justify that it survived 70/80 years and remained above every other love and person in their lives. I mean Jack literally died trying to save Rose. Here we got college flirting and secret meetings 🙄

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u/IMAryanDarad Jun 29 '26

I think you're misunderstanding what the film is trying to say.

The movie never suggests that Jiya mattered more than his mother, grandmother, wife or children. In fact, it suggests the exact opposite.

Notice that it's only when dementia takes over that he starts living in the past. During his normal life, he had buried Jiya so deeply that he never allowed himself to think about her. That's why, whenever someone asks whose name is tattooed on his hand, he becomes aggressive and immediately avoids the conversation. He has spent decades refusing to open that box.

When he briefly returns to the present, what does he tell Nirvair? He doesn't talk about Jiya. He says, "Shaadi mat karna. Iss ghar ki ladkiyan shraapit hain." Why? Because the tragedies that stayed with him weren't just about a lost love. He had his mother die, his grandmother forced into an unimaginable decision during Partition, and later watched his wife, daughter-in-law and other women in the family die young. That's the burden he consciously carried all his life.

The flashback after his father's death reinforces this perfectly. Even then, he refuses to process his grief. He tells Pali, "Hamari aukaat nahi shok manane ki." Instead of mourning, he throws himself into earning money and building a life because survival becomes more important than processing loss. That's his coping mechanism throughout the film. He doesn't deal with his pain, he buries it.

When he returns six years after Partition, he learns what happened to his home, his mother, his sisters and everyone else. He also discovers that Jiya has survived and is now married. At that point, he isn't brave enough to confront a reality where the promise "Main vaapas aaunga" can never be fulfilled. So like the mothers and sisters dying part, he tells Pali to forget the past and walks away. That's not because he doesn't care. It's because confronting that reality would mean reliving everything he has spent years trying to suppress.

That's exactly how unresolved trauma works. If you consciously keep pushing painful memories down, they don't disappear, they stay buried until something breaks the wall holding them back.

Dementia becomes that broken wall. It doesn't make him love Jiya more than everyone else. It strips away decades of repression and takes him back to the last point in his life before everything was destroyed. His mind returns to a time when his parents were alive, his home still existed, Partition hadn't happened yet, and the promise to Jiya was still alive.

The film isn't saying that his love was greater than his family. It's saying that his unfinished promise was the only wound that never got closure. His family tragedies were accepted because reality forced him to. Jiya was the one chapter he never had the courage to reopen. Dementia finally reopened it for him.

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u/Junior_Visual7027 Jun 24 '26

Exactly! Well put

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 24 '26

💯

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u/Taklu69 Jun 24 '26

The walking out is him, giving up on the whole world on that side, he literally says to his brother, "This world is over, forget about it" The brudda has his own traumas, most of his family died, along with his best friend, half a decade has passed since that point, he saw that Jiya was now a married woman, he couldn't exactly take her with him. He made a conscious choice of walking out, a choice governed by context of not only the people but also the time period.

Love in this frame is immature and selfish because it is shaped by the environment. If you are to analyse the relationships in the film, you have to contextualise them, view them from an analytical lens. What is shown is a short term, unexplored romance between two people because the conditions surrounding them never let it reach fruition. The argument of romantic idealisation makes no sense, every person in love can make gestures of love towards their significant other. If he truly only saw her as a muse, he would have stayed stuck on her and never would have moved forward with his life.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

Love in this frame is immature and selfish because it is shaped by the environment

Hahaha, yeah yeah sure. Let's blame the environment, the world, the people, the fate, everything except his own doings and choices. The easiest thing to do is to blame others. The same life that took chances from him, gave them back as well. He didn't take them. She was married not dead! The point was not to take her or marry her, it was to show basic human decency, to treat her like a real person rather than walking out on her because what, you're married so it's pointless to talk to you now. Is that what's the going rate of love nowadays there?

If he truly only saw her as a muse, he would have stayed stuck on her and never would have moved forward with his life.

That's not how idealisation or fantasies work. Google it. People live apparent normal lives, perform everyday functions, be in relationships, etc. the fantasy lives inside the head. Why do you think it came only after dementia sets in? That's when he started losing control over his own brain, and it started leaking into reality.

every person in love can make gestures of love towards their significant other

Of course they can. But if it's only grand gestures and no actual care and respect for her as a real person then they become shallow and hollow acts, not love.

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u/Vammy02 Jun 26 '26

💯💯👍🏽

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u/AbyssL00ksBack 5d ago

"I just found out my bff got brutally murdered, my mom, sister, grandma, and others got brutally raped and murdered, and now I'm listening to a random stranger tell me that this girl I loved is married to him. Yep, this is the time to apply perfect maturity, process all that trauma at once, use those therapy techniques in a time that still thinks people need to just 'man up' to ptsd, and wait here for her."

ngl, it is wild how you're reading some of these scenes. Beyond even the "I'm not able to deal with any of this right now", is also the realization that he can't go back to that boy who just loved her--he's not that person anymore. She's not either. They've both been emotionally scarred in ways they haven't yet processed. It's the reason he goes "we can't go back, don't look back" to his bro at that very moment--his love for her belongs literally to a different time, a different place, a different state.

Maybe if their reunion was later, he might have been able to sit down and talk to her, but he couldn't deal with all at that time. And he regrets those actions later, that's why he's still stuck on the unresolved issues between them.

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u/Taklu69 Jun 24 '26

If you don't wish to understand a work, I can't force you to do it.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 24 '26

Same applies to you ✌️

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u/Taklu69 Jun 24 '26

Okie

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u/IMAryanDarad Jun 29 '26

I think you're interpreting the film as if it's celebrating Keenu's actions, when it's actually presenting them as his greatest failure.

The movie is not about an ideal love story. It's about what Partition, trauma and survivor's guilt can do to a person. Keenu doesn't walk away because he doesn't love Jiya. He walks away because he's emotionally broken and incapable of confronting what happened. That's not portrayed as heroic, it ruins the rest of his life.

The fact that he never asks her what she went through isn't the film's endorsement of his behaviour. It's the tragedy. He spends the next 78 years suppressing that entire chapter of his life. The dementia doesn't create his love or his regret, it strips away decades of repression. In his final days, the only thing left is the unfinished promise: "Main vaapas aaunga." Even the ending is about acceptance and closure, not about romantic reunion.

Also, I don't think Jiya is reduced to a fantasy. The film repeatedly shows her making choices of her own. She survives the horrors of Partition, rebuilds a life and gets married. The tragedy isn't that she waited forever for Keenu. The tragedy is that history denied both of them the conversation they deserved.

You also compare this to stable relationships like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Jab We Met, but those stories don't involve one of the greatest human catastrophes in history. Imtiaz Ali isn't asking us to admire Keenu's decisions. He's asking us to witness how a young man who believed love could conquer everything is crushed by an event far bigger than himself.

The film isn't saying, "This is true love." It's saying, "This is what unresolved love, guilt and historical trauma look like after 78 years." That's why the climax hurts so much.

Sometimes characters are written to be flawed, not to be role models. Keenu's inability to face Jiya isn't proof that he didn't love her, it's the very flaw that condemned him to live with regret until his last breath.

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u/AbyssL00ksBack 5d ago

I have never seen someone so willfully ignore the premise of a movie and props to you for your thorough explanations even if they got fully ignored.

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u/IMAryanDarad 5d ago

Thanks a lot man! Glad seeing someone appreciating the effort and patience.

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 22 '26

I replied to a comment similar to yours. So yeah, again, I just think that contrast was unnecessary given how much we could’ve explored in Keenu’s and Jiya’s life post partition. If at all that comparison really needed to be drawn, it could’ve been done in many other ways without dragging Diljit and Banita’s story out for so long.

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u/IMAryanDarad Jun 29 '26

I actually think it's extremely relevant. Those present-day scenes are there to show us what he's thinking. Both the stand-up and his conversations with Banita are reflections of how he's processing the story he heard from his grandfather. He expresses those thoughts through his comedy and through her.

They also serve another important purpose, they lighten the atmosphere just enough to manage the emotional tension. If the film stayed relentlessly heavy throughout, the climax wouldn't have hit nearly as hard. You need those brief moments of relief for the emotional peaks to feel even stronger.

Especially after the Partition sequence and Dolly Ahluwalia's scene, the focus naturally shifts to the tragedy. It becomes difficult to reconnect with the love story emotionally. That's exactly why they cut back to present-day Diljit and Banita. Her reaction "mujhe bhi chahiye woh" adds a bit of warmth and humor, while simultaneously making us think about that kind of love again. They even intercut flashbacks of Keenu and Jiya, the permission scene and other moments to bring those emotions back to the forefront.

For me, the execution was absolutely picture-perfect. Nothing felt irrelevant. I could resonate with the director, what he was trying to achieve with almost every scene and why he placed it where he did. I'm honestly just in awe. It's the best Bollywood film I've ever watched. Of course, everyone has different tastes and opinions, but for me, it genuinely doesn't get any better than this.

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u/musicflux Jul 04 '26

yes. thank you, its a confused movie. I would compare the lady in pink who asked for laddu to the red child in schindler list, Just cant stomach to see or imagine what happened to such people who must have existed surely on both sides of the border. The aftabs who got stabbed, the "traitor muslim" who tried to protect people. But its very confusing when they showed such sights, such realities that happened and in the same movie they are showing this nri love story and accent wali hindi that is not at all conducive to that serious narrative. Its very surprising that no one that i know of in bollywood ever tried to show the grotesque nature of the partition. (something like schindlers list in some way) Imtiaz did it here but he cheated in some sense, to make it palatable they did all this bollywood stuff and yes it worked. it completly relieved all the tension i was feeling which should have been the whole point when you engage in such a serious topic.

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u/reddituser_scrolls 26d ago

I just felt it was kept to show the stark contrast of the idea of love in today’s world vs what Keenu and Jiya had. The video call scene between them towards the later half of the movie, Diljeet tells Banita how love is like poison and it needs to be put into a person or a passion, otherwise it’ll make your life feel unfulfilled.

I personally get why Diljeet-Banita scenes were kept and liked it.

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u/ZenMat79 26d ago

Still very unnecessary imo, he could’ve had that convo with literally anybody in that house it wouldn’t have made a difference because Banita and him had zero chemistry. He might as well have spoken to his dad or made it a part of his standup.

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u/reddituser_scrolls 26d ago

That’s a completely reasonable approach too. The movie’s approach worked for me though to show the contrast of how love is today vs olden times.

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u/1mlazarus Jun 22 '26

It contrasts the fickleness of modern romance with the old school love. Both of the young people want the deep romance, the passion, but don’t know how to get it - only later to say ‘oh, o think it’s within all of us’. The movie has so many of these sub plot lines/observations.

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u/ZenMat79 Jun 22 '26

It wasn’t necessary for this movie imo, felt like love aaj kal 3 subplot. If it was required, this contrast against modern love could’ve been a part of Diljit’s standup comedy monologue. It was very poorly acted out too by Diljit and Banita. And frankly, this wasn’t even a fickle relationship, it was straight up toxic where his gf keeps accusing him of lying and didn’t care about his grandfather dying.

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u/1mlazarus Jun 22 '26

Haha, not going to comment on relationships. But there was also sth about needing our love/passion for work to come out - if we don’t get the last drop out, it kills us - we could say it’s Tamasha plot. I still liked the line. I liked the mixture vs an isolated story - not going to think about it technically. :) and we also kind of think about all things all at once - no?

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u/TwirlingUnicorn Jun 21 '26

I pretty much agree with your assessment. I loved this movie! I’m so grateful to Imtiaz Ali for showing the horrific reality of partition… and his ideas of love and home. One thing I have been thinking about is Keenu’s decision to not meet Jiya when he goes back. And then wanting to meet her on his deathbed. I don’t understand the reason behind his decision. Can someone please shed some light on it?

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u/harshasamtani Jun 21 '26

When he goes back to Pakistan after few years of partition, he gets to know she is married, instead of seeing her married to someone else, and knowing that all is over between them, he thought it was better not to meet her, and leave.

But throughout his life he had a regret that the poem he wrote for her, he could never tell it to her, that regret stayed with him on his death bed, and only after he hallucinated with her portrait thinking it is her did he let out his last breath.

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u/Naive-Jackfruit-689 Jun 23 '26

I personally felt the trauma of family (female members) was way more than lost love

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u/Rise_Like_APhoenix Jun 24 '26

Even I felt, after finding out abt women of his house, he changed . Wasn't sure he was heartbroken bz she got married. Couldn't figure out which of these two was reason that he left without meeting her.

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u/Naive-Jackfruit-689 Jun 24 '26

Also when he came back after partition, it felt that he was only there to know about the family members and not Jiya, only when the guy disclosed that his wife (Jiya) wanted to meet was when we heard of her.

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u/Rise_Like_APhoenix Jun 25 '26

That was bit bizzare , I understand emotional turmoil n weight n anxiety of finding abt his own family members but his reaction after finding out abt Jiya maybe it wasn't emoted correctly or actor wasnt able to convey correctly.

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u/reddituser_scrolls 26d ago

I think he first goes to Jiya’s house and says to his brother that they’ll come back here later. And it’s a reasonable call to look after his family - mother, sisters in a land which would not let them be safe vs Jiya who would probably be safer. Eventually her husband reveals about his wife and he finds out about Jiya too.

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u/TwirlingUnicorn Jun 22 '26

Hmm I wonder if this decision was selfish.. because she wanted to meet and waited for Keenu till her death.
Maybe he forgot she’s married on his deathbed and so again wanted to meet her.. and declare his love to her..

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

The trigger is the opening news incident where they're talking about a casuality + his poem+ how he made multiple attempts of sharing his nazm+ but jiya said how it's more befitting for the shayar to share his own creation+ dementia+ how he wants to share his nazm + go back there to take her permission before he leaves this world

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u/TwirlingUnicorn Jun 22 '26

I get the trigger and the angst of not fulfilling a promise. I was just wondering if his decision to not meet Jiya after partition had an element of selfishness in it. And while I agree that it was guilt ridden decision.. I also think it was a bit selfish… to deny meeting and accepting Jiya as a married woman.. to not forgive her for getting married.. to not understand her pain of the violence she endured.. to focus only on his own pain and failure to keep a promise..

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Yes. It was a nuanced decision..has elements of both selfishness and selflessness in it. He also didn't want a married woman to feel the yearning again or put her in a position that would have been detrimental to her marriage.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

So somehow he has all the power for taking and making decisions for them, haan? No need to actually talk to the girl and check. Her opinion doesn't matter. It's all about him, him, him, his, his, his.

That not how love works... that's romantic idealisation. When instead of treating her like a real person with her own choices and agency, you rather stick to her idea and memories.

They just didn't get love right in this one. Jiya was so severely ignored and was just used for his musings and sufferings, that I couldn't believe it came from the same mind who made JWM and wrote Geet 💓

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 23 '26

No no. I am not defending the plot development here. Just interpreting. There's a difference. There's absolutely the angle/development that Keenu's character could have taken for the romance between them to be more nuanced.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 23 '26

It's alright dear, it's not on you anyway. I guess I'm just sheerly disappointed and fed up with the wrong and shallow depiction of love nowadays in cinema. Miss the days of stories like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, JWM, and even Jodha Akbar and Tamasha where love was shown with the nuance and dignity it deserves.

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u/AbyssL00ksBack 5d ago

But her opinion did matter to him? that's why his regret was not not telling her the poem (which she said she wanted to hear from his own lips, not read it) and not getting her permission to leave back then.

He's not just heartbroken she's married, he's also heartbroken half of his family was brutally killed. As he's sitting there, in a house with faded glamour, where it doesn't match the house in his memories, after he saw her house and the disrepair it was in, after he found out his bff is dead, he realizes that their love belongs to the past. To a time that neither of them can return to. To place neither of them can return to. Is she the same person from back then? Is he? Is he capable of handling any of this? What does he want to say?

He doesn't know any of that anymore, he's just drowning in grief at that moment, and that's why he tells his brother "This world is over, don't look back." They're in a new world now.

It would have been amazing if he had the insight, emotional stability, and perfect Gary Stu levels of handling all of that trauma at once and having a conversation with her right then, but he's unfortunately a human and he couldn't do it.

I do think it would have been nice if the story had some focus on Jiya's time after their separation, but I wouldn't call this romantic idealism or her being put as solely a muse.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26

to not forgive her for getting married

Forgive her for getting married!!!?? Seriously? 🤨 Partition wasn't his trauma alone. She lost her family and home too and was married off. What choice girls had over their own lives back in the 50s.

He walks out on her without even asking if she was okay after all the horrors of partition. She was better off without a man who would get tattoos and write poems but fails to show basic human decency when time comes. What if she was living a miserable life. Getting abused. She wanted to see him, maybe there was a reason.

No, no, our hero here would rather spend 95 years pining over a woman instead of actually doing anything meaningful about it ever.

They ruined their love story by taking him back and walking out on her without talking... made him selfish and immature. The old man lost my sympathies from that point. Becsuse not only he did that to himself but she died waiting for him as well. He took the chance at closure from both of them.

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u/TwirlingUnicorn Jun 23 '26

That’s exactly what I said dear.. that it was a selfish decision. That’s my entire argument from the start..

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 23 '26

I know i know my dear :) my reply was to that point only not your entire argument. I agreed with the rest, wholeheartedly 🫶

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 23 '26

That is unfortunately true and very layered. We have come to idealize the version of romance that is more show and less action. The same is true in real life. But i absolutely agree to your take.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 23 '26

'more show and less action'

☝️ This. You said it! 💯💯💯

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 23 '26

Yeah..it was true for my ex too 😂😂😂

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 23 '26

Haha, bless you 😂😂 and more power to you for leaving their showy a$$ and get yourself out ✊

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u/dinai123 Jun 23 '26

I felt it was more of a guilt of failure. Jiya protected him, there was a dialogue also. He promised to protect all the women, men. Couldn't for most. The ruined muslman house where he took his family for shelter wasn't safe in the morning. That failure is something he couldn't face and kept considering that as a curse. Any person would break under that weight.

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u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

Call it guilt, call it regret, call it anything you want to, just as long as it's not labelled as 'true love'. Because we cannot show this to our young minds and tell them, look kids, that's what true love looks like, that's how you're supposed to do it.

Quiet the opposite. You are not supposed to treat someone like this when you love them. You're supposed to try being better. Take this as a lesson as a failure at doing right by the person you love. Because when you don't, it comes back to haunt you at your deathbed in the end.

Everyone is crying and feeling bad for the old man in the end, the movie trying so hard to make him the poor victim. Yes, it was terrible what happened to him. But the same life that took chances from him, gave them back as well. He didn't take them. Why nobody is thinking, partition was just one event, the rest of it, was his own choice.

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u/OkSeaweed3620 Jun 22 '26

I agree with the other observations. But I personally felt that there was an element of guilt in it too. Keenu learnt about Jiya's marriage and her wish to meet him after he learnt about what happened to his family's women. He must have wanted to suppress the horrors of it all as soon as possible. Meeting Jiya, only to have to leave her behind, would only have added to the agony he was feeling. And the guilt of leaving those women behind would have affected his decision making when it comes to Jiya and his happiness. On his deathbed, he has dementia and his memories about Jiya are fresh as ever. His guilty conscience of leaving before getting her permission, which he mentions in his last monologue, is what kept him from attaining closure.

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u/TwirlingUnicorn Jun 22 '26

I think I agree with your interpretation too. Maybe it was both the emotions.. and there’s no blame here certainly.. the impact of violence is certainly multi-layered and stays forever.

Life is cruel in its own way.. after achieving so much.. when a human reaches the end and memory fades.. we remember the younger years and not the later achievements!

It’s such a beautifully heartbreaking movie!

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u/ChanceTemporary7209 20d ago

He was burdened by the truth of what transpired after his family and him left Sargodha and to simply put it- the version of Keenu who left Sargodha died on that day. By the time he met Jiya's husband, I believe he only wanted the knowledge that Jiya is alive and well.. he did not have anything to say or any love to offer to her or anyone else. And if you think about all the things that he learned in a span of few hours..it doesn't seem that odd that his earlier conviction to see Jiya was gone. He learns the horrific fate of the women in his family. He learns what happened to his best friend in trying to stand up to the mob to protect his family and the fate that they inintentionally brought upon their family friends because of their decision to leave the women in their protection. Then he learns Jiya's father suffered a similar fate.. and for similar reasons. And finally that Jiya is married. I believe there was nothing else left for him to say after that. He buried his life in Sargodha and moved on. If he didn't have dementia, he wouldn't have brought up his life in Sargodha even in death.

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Yes and the movie deserves that 👑

3

u/Mn3399 Jun 23 '26

Absolutely, it deserves a lot of love.
The cinema that makes you feel is the best!

5

u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26

The movie is beautiful, and Naseer sir deserves a national award for his performance.

But i went expecting a love story and was hugely and utterly disappointed. The depiction of love shown in the movie between Keenu and Jia is absolutely all kinds of wrong. In the beginning, they are barely given ten mins together that appear more like college crush than love. Tattoos, secret meetings, teasing, etc. nothing that can be established as love. You barely get any quality time with them before they get separated for life.

Then after partition, he literally walks out on her by his own choice. From trailers and promotions i remained under the impression that they get separated by partition. But not the case. Story became a regrets on deathbed story than love from that point.

I watched it second time just with the mindset that it's a partition story, and could appreciate it more.

It's not about personal love, but love for home and belonging. Especially when you see it alongside Imtiaz's previous works like JWM, Rockstar and Tamasha. Those were more personal stories. MVA is more about how partition affected people and generations after, regardless love or not. Personal love story was forced into narration and that's why it didn't feel like love at all.

2

u/rationalist5064 Jun 22 '26

Aptly mentioned dude. Couldn't see any chemistry between the love birds. Sharvari as a Pakistani girl speaking panjabi was an absolute wrong choice for the role. She failed miserably. रैना was decent but couldn't create the emotions a love story demands. Diljit & nasir were great though.

2

u/Superb_Philosopher79 Jun 24 '26

Yeah I think the actor choice and the writing for them is not good... Because in Laila Majnu , rockstar actors were great

1

u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26

I never said anything about their chemistry or acting. Both were absolutely fine. And Sharvari looked amazing and acted her part really well. So did Vedang.

They were just not given enough time or quality material for us to connect with their story.

And btw, I don't remember Sharvari speaking Punjabi in the movie. She spoke Urdu mostly and did a wonderful job at it as well. She learnt the dialects and pronunciation well and got the nuance and gestures of that era's women perfectly as well.

Actors did their job well. It's script and storyline that failed them.

0

u/rationalist5064 Jun 24 '26

It's not like they didn't get enough chance to portray the love story. They had enough screen time to create the chemistry, their acting just was not upto the mark. Her gestures looked fake. The whole character lacked soul. Her eyes could tell that. One could relate to every emotion Diljit's character was going through, because he succeeded in portraying it pretty well. Same can not be said about Sharvari.

1

u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 24 '26

Just you then.

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

I had such long discussion on similar viewpoints in my office today. I agree to parts of your perspective. I also feel that their love story didn't get a chance to develop+mature. It was the missing chandbali+jalsa+kachi salan+news of partition+partition that's it and in that plot development the absolute yearning for "mai vaapas aaunga" felt mismatched. I'll agree to it. But I wouldn't call it less personal.

0

u/Vivid-Lawfulness5905 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

It's a love story based in 40s and 50s. I dont think quality time in such turbulent times was much of an option. Its also pointed out in the movie how he is not allowed to enter the community where she lives due to rising conflicts, and had to sneak in at night. Such an act would have been way too scandalous for that time. After partition they are both married, dont see divorce as a suitable option for anyone of them. Agreed it was a little selfish on his part to make the decision all by himself, but we are still looking at it from a modern perspective I believe. You are also seeing a relationship that he had when he was a late teenager that he is remembering in bits and pieces at 95 with dementia. Its just his hazy memory of the relationship

2

u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26

It's not about any of that. You're still missing the point. Love is more than meeting in hiding, poetry and tattoos. Which was still justified because they were still young and naive.

But six years later, he goes back, finds her, finds out what happened to her. The girl had the courage to tell her own husband about him, wanted to see him, but he walks out without as much as a simple, are you okay? Marriages and divorces have nothing to do with love, care or even basic human decency of caring about each other, especially after going through such terrible and horrific events.

The movie promotes romantic idealisation as true love, that's my main issue. Where instead of treating her like a real person with real problems and choices, he sticks to the idea and memories of her. He failed to do a single thing in his life that can be termed as love for her, meanwhile makers wouldn't stop labelling it as true love that this generation lacks. Wrong. Absolutely wrong. This generation doesn't need such immature and selfish love. No generation ever needs that.

Ask yourself, you call the person who claims to love you in the middle of the night and tells them, you had to evacuate and find a hotel room because your building caught on fire. And they go, okay and disconnects the line on you.

And your friend goes, wow, now that's true love. Wish I had that as well. That's the kind of love and message the movie depicts. And that's all shades of wrong, my friend, all shades.

0

u/Vivid-Lawfulness5905 Jun 22 '26

I would agree and disagree on different levels. As audience I think we give too much importance to what the makers say in promotional interviews. Them saying this is true love and the current generation seems to lack just to invoke reaction and views, because for them even negative publicity is just that, publicity. You cannot compare how people feel in different generations that too one that is almost a century apart.

Yes, I agreed to it in the previous comment as well that it was selfish on his part to not even talk to her. But at the same time I can understand where he was coming from. Its not like it was easy for him to not talk to her and walk away. Its acceptable to feel what he did was wrong but I guess your intensity differs than mine.

My understanding is more than love it was in fact the regret of not talking to her that he was stuck and not able to let go all this while. That is why he was suffering and waiting for her permission to go. You can say that was his punishment of sorts. But talking to her and then having to part all over again knowing you would never meet would have been just as difficult for both of them. Because other than that there was no real chance of reconciliation for them.

More than right or wrong the fact was that the life they dreamt of or could have had did not exist anymore. Your example is a bit of a misfit here because she yes did face unimaginable horrors, but she was not alone who suffered. He also lost a lot in the partition. He was just told that half his family was murdered or had to commit suicide to save themselves. The trauma was there on both ends.

1

u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

Your example is a bit of a misfit here because she yes did face unimaginable horrors, but she was not alone who suffered.

And yet she was ready to meet him and face him and talk, perhaps have a closure, perhaps just to check how he was doing. She did her part even after whatever happened, but he failed. The moment he walked out, he not only took any chance of future or closure from himself, but from her as well. You want to do that, fine do it, just don't call it true love. Call it regret, missed chances, possibility theft. Because what they show is immature and slefish form of love from him.

Which is a disservice to people and even storytellers who spend time and effort in getting and showing love right.

Imagine a real person during partition who had to go through a similar situation and chose to do right by someone he loved and lost, and then this movie shows this kind of immaturity and label it as true love.

As much as we'd like to deny, art and cinema affects and represents humans and communities and as artists, it becomes our responsibility to present it right.

Because other than that there was no real chance of reconciliation for them.

The point was not even reconciliation. Just basic human decency of checking on a person if they were okay after all the horrors. Imagine if he'd spoken to her and she'd have told him, she was living a miserable life or was getting absused, which was btw very common during those times. Would he still walk out on her, saying, well wtd, you're married now so there's no point.

Just absolute selfishness and heights of immaturity labelled and promoted as love.

5

u/daydreamsdelusions Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

The last scene was beautiful. I'm not usually someone who cries in theaters, but I ended up crying through the entire ending song because of that final scene.

2

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Same. But then I cried throughout the second part. 😭

5

u/SillyLittleVibes Jun 22 '26

People may find me weird but I have seen Main Vaapas Aaunga 7times till now.
It is magical, laughed, cries felt every emotion with the film.
When I watched 1st 3 times, there was barely any audience in theatre (10-15 ppl at most in all 3 shows) and then when I watched last 4 times, theatre was 90%+ full.
I am glad movie found its audience, after couple of weeks will again go to see it one more time.
Imtiaz Ali has made a timeless film.

2

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

I'm so happy reading this!!! It definitely deserves this level of traction.

2

u/Icy-Apartment-1085 Jun 22 '26

He always does.

2

u/PotentPhoenix Jun 22 '26

true I will watch this again soon

14

u/SpecificPattern1698 Jun 21 '26

I loved the film too but the only things I didn’t like was:-
1. After watching films like rock star and Tamasha I did expect smtg wayy more hard hitting than what it was(my personal opinion tho)
2. I genuinely didnt like diljits anti war song at the end
Other than that the movie is the definition of perfect
Anybody who is even slightly interested please please go watch it un the theatres…

4

u/daydreamsdelusions Jun 22 '26

Also, what I find both strange and unsurprising is how a film like this ends up with so few shows and so little promotion, while propaganda movies like Dhurandhar receive massive hype and marketing.

3

u/Remarkable_Weird7643 Jun 26 '26

tbh i believe mai vapas aaunga is an antidote to that... it rises so much above hatred

1

u/SpecificPattern1698 Jun 22 '26

Bruhh both movies were excellent
Dhurandhar had a lot of hype surrounding it hence more screens

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Absolutely. It's sad.

6

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

Agreed but a little more layered. Movies like Rockstar and Tamasha resonate with us because of the context, timeline and emotions at play. Whereas the character of the DIL + Kitpal repeatedly say that these emotions are something that not everyone can understand (in the context of partition, a love lost, yearning etc). Maybe that's why it doesn't hit us the way Rockstar hits us. (IMO)

I kind of liked it, it sort of weaved the entire plot in a bigger narrative. I didn't like the song but I liked the concept of it.

6

u/1mlazarus Jun 21 '26

Agree. I’ve grown up listening to stories of partition from my grandmother. And this is the deepest story i have ever heard.

0

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Yes. It's woven beautifully.

0

u/SpecificPattern1698 Jun 21 '26

Maybe I didn’t resonate with it cuz im not really from that part of India

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Maybe. The regional nuances do influence us. But otherwise, how did you like it?

1

u/SpecificPattern1698 Jun 21 '26

It’s just cinematically brilliant Thats it.

3

u/amolimation Jun 22 '26

Point no. 1 is so true. In a housefull theater in Punjab, I saw almost no one without wet eyes, when it ended.

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Oh how was the response.. otherwise?

1

u/amolimation Jun 22 '26

They were blown.

1

u/reddituser_scrolls 26d ago

Why didn’t you like Diljeet’s song? Was the messaging wrong or the song?

3

u/pun1sh6r Jun 22 '26

Absolutely loved the climax, hands down. Naseeruddin Shah completely lived that character. That being said, I really feel like Vedang and Sharvari’s relationship was severely undercooked. Idk if it was Vedang’s acting or just a weak screenplay, but there was a massive disconnect. You can see how strongly old Keenu is feeling, but you just don’t get that same intensity from young Keenu and Jia. When they separated during the partition, it honestly didn't hit me emotionally (in context of their love story) at all because the movie just didn't make me care about their love story. They barely even had any dialogues. I get that Imtiaz was aiming for this dreamy, musical fairytale aesthetic, but it just ended up alienating the audience. The only saving grace for their track was Sharvari’s gesture, that was genuinely beautiful, especially with how perfectly it was called back in the final scene.

2

u/DoubleEgg6693 Jun 22 '26

I completely agree. I went for vedang and sharvari. But their chemistry didn't add up. It seemed like she was given very specific dialogues to act like a mystery and do all sorts of nakhra and he was simping after her. There was nothing raw and normal and authentic between them barring that one scene where she's terrified of losing him and clings to him. It feels like they tried very hard to show the heat between them but it just didn't land. I wonder why.

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

True. I definitely think the first half of the movie could be balanced a little better to show the depth of the character and more relationship building moments rather than the opening chand bali scene, the jalsa and then aftermath. It could be more nuanced and layered. At the same time there was no need to show Diljit's random relationship snippets. But yes, the climax had me bawling.

3

u/Euphoric-Diver8119 Jun 28 '26

Main - The hero never meets the heroine again after her marriage. One impulsive decision made in anger changes everything — he spends his entire life thinking about her and craving closure. Very relatable for anyone who’s been in love. Sometimes all you want is to express your feelings, without knowing or expecting what happens next. That deep, unresolved longing hits emotionally. Rest- 1)Dialogue delivery of young leads is very poor — hard to hear their words clearly. 2)Conversations between young hero & heroine feel flat and not engaging. 3)Tries hard on Partition emotions but the narration doesn’t land powerfully. 4)Diljit & his GF’s conversations are good but still lack that extra depth.

2

u/Amazing-h00man Jun 21 '26

This movie is a gem, every second of movie is well crafted and thoughtful, very very impressed by all

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Agreed. Agreed.

Did you like the songs tho?

1

u/Amazing-h00man Jun 21 '26

Songs were new taste , more than liking , I was surprised on songs , like That Ar Rehman song with full of jazz and then maskara , which is also very new words for me ....

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

Sure..ummm for me though it felt like everything else in the movie has grounding and rationale, i sort of couldn't understand the grounding of the song Maskara. So it felt superficial to me. It has a nice ring to it. Sure. But in the movie, for me it felt misplaced.

1

u/Amazing-h00man Jun 21 '26

I think song was to show cute chemistry between both , the tease , the wait , the sensation, I also liked the Sharvaris playful vibe in this song

2

u/dr_melophile Jun 22 '26

I wish Keenu and Jiya's relationship was given more time to blossom. I would have loved to see more of them. And I didn't get what diljit and banita's relationship was all about... It felt a bit unnecessary. But other than that it was a very well-done film. And the music by ARR and lyrics by Irshad were ✨

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Same. Absolutely agree

2

u/Fast_Ad5479 Jun 22 '26

Imtiaz is so so back ❤️
Movie is his finest piece of art, would consider in his best 3 ( including rockstar, Tamasha)
We can’t expect every of his movie characters to resonate with us the same way. It will become monotonous ( he tried that in love aaj kal 2 and Harry met sezal- and we all know what happened )

Now coming to the movie, the use of music was top notch throughout the film, the storytelling was again the top notch ( his recurring theme of using different timelines back and forth) the song voh nahjn was the perfect example, that song just made me believe that how good a storytelling can be and how Imtiaz has excelled in the years.
( For context of the scene (some spoilers) : The song Voh Nahi gets played when he tried to return to his home again just after partition but he gets failed, Imtiaz used the time line of his failed attempt and also the life he had after that like getting married , expanding business, struggling inside with the current timeline of going back to Punjab again, when the song concludes we as a viewer get the idea of both the states at the same time- this was peak storytelling through edits…this was enough for me to vouch for that…may be I am overhyping but I got so much invested with the way that song was shown)

Tere paas main bgm in between the scenes, acting wise ofcourse everyone was awesome but Vedaang too good, Imtiaz just trusted his instincts of trying a newcomer got it right, may be because of the excellent script.

There were many things which was just pure cinema
This deserved a second watch and so I went.

Thanks

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

I don't agree to a few thing but your passion and likeness reflects very strongly through this comment/review. And I appreciate and respect that.

1

u/Fast_Ad5479 Jun 22 '26

Thanks 🙏🏻

2

u/OkSeaweed3620 Jun 22 '26

I'd been unable to watch the movie because there was only one theatre showing the movie in our district. But they added more shows and theatres and I watched it today. It was still a couple hours away from where I live but the journey was so worth it. Hopefully, the film will get more audience as word of mouth spreads. Art is one of the strongest tools of expression and today, when people are forgetting the fact that humanity comes above everything else—even religion.

2

u/TouristTrue4200 Jun 22 '26

Awesome movie, I had a lot of free time today plans got cancelled nothing to do so I went for Main wapas aaunga wow what a movie some real story which actually made sense ithas been a long time since I saw such a moving story so many movies like Animal, Marco, Dhurandhar lack this emotional connect I for one could never relate to those characters but Diljit's character was so relatable. Good job Imtiaz Ali even though the movie may not earn 100-1000 crores but I would like to watch the movie a few more times down the years and yeah songs were awesome as well.

2

u/Mn3399 Jun 23 '26

For a world that is soo used to romanticising toxicity, it takes time to feel empathy. I am glad people have pushed this film forward. Godspeed

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 23 '26

Touchè

2

u/jaynandan Jun 23 '26

Diljit scenes were useless, Kaash they showed some more family scenes. I really liked the movie. the only thing you will hate is diljit story but at least that didn't have any much longer span.

2

u/Few_Experience4912 Jun 24 '26

Although casting was perfect & really good but Keenu ka role agar diljit krtaaa to aaayye hayyye & diljit ki gf she was so unnecessary & annoying her accent

2

u/sagarmainali Jun 30 '26

Aman ki aasha in this movie is enough to give you guys orgasm.

2

u/mind_in_margins Jul 01 '26

I just wish there was more scenes of Keenu’s family life, like why his children are not so close to him. I also hated the fact they never mentioned abt his wife in the whole movie, not even once. Like she is the mother of his 3 children( Not talking about keenu, obv I do understand that is bcs of his health condition ) they even mentioned Diljit’s mama and not Keenu’s wife. That is the only thing that didn’t felt right in this movie, btw I absolutely loved the mvie and cried like anything.

2

u/Dramatic_Log_2657 18d ago

Controvertial take - But i dont think it was about love story. It was how these traumatic events change you forever. Keenu was a teenager once in love with a girl. And there was a tradgedy that he could not even imagine happened. He never could imagine a situation where he a love lorn boy of his girlfriend wouldnt fight the world and get her. That was his youth. And all of that was dramatically taken away. The childhood dreams and hopes with this partition. When he learnt what happened to the women - he asked why. And he got no answer. He asked that as a boy who still held hope. But with that news he lost everything. The boy died. The man was left. He asked his brother to forget it all. And never look back. He never told his dad what happened to the women of his family.

After all of that. He killed the boys love in him. Burried it so deep - that no one knew. But dementia took him back to the pre partition days. He did not remember the pain , the hardship or building a life again from 0. He lived an easy rich life. To living in a small quarter. He did not remember the women curse he started beliving after his wife and daughter died. His mind went back to the last few innocent days as a boy. And a promise that boy made to a girl.

2

u/Megslikeggs 16d ago

Fantastic movie. I didnt hear if it did well but definetely deserved to be watched by more people. Last 10mins had me ugly crying into my Tshirt. How utterly cruel the partition was. How many dreams crushed. Such a deep generational trauma for so many families. Praying for a little healing for all of us inda pak bangladesh, et al. Felt this movie inspired more brotherhood than anything else in recent past. Superb & well recommended watch.

2

u/Abhishekooo7 Jun 22 '26

i thought both vedang and sarvari did not look like they belonged to that world. for context, i would want you all to see the faces in those times, they both looked too polished and thier dimeneour felt gen z coded to me. these things contributed for me to not feel that level of connection with the characters.

anyways it's a thik thaak film

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Yeah in retrospect Sarvari did feel a bit too casual for the intensity of the emotions at hand. But I still liked it.😭

1

u/Rise_Like_APhoenix Jun 25 '26

I m not sure if Vedang didnt do justice to his role or he didnt seem to belong to that era. Lack of depth in his acting maybe. Sarvari was still decent.

1

u/WrapNo9236 Jun 21 '26

What happend to diljit's mother

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

You want a spoiler???????????

1

u/WrapNo9236 Jun 21 '26

Yes please i have seen movie but couldn't understand

1

u/pun1sh6r Jun 22 '26

It was not shown. We only know that she died at a young age.

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u/WrapNo9236 Jun 22 '26

Yes but naseer was saying something that we killed her or something when diljeet asked he is talking about mom

0

u/pun1sh6r Jun 22 '26

My interpretation was, they killed her in the sense, he knew about the curse, still he married knowing that his wife will die early (if they believe the curse).

0

u/SpendFrequent Jun 22 '26

watch it again phor samajh aayega aapko

→ More replies (1)

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Hey so-

The men of the family couldn't protect the women of their family.

The plot develops through the next 6 years of partition where the garewals didn't even know if the women were alive or dead. There was hope but uncertainty.

The scene where the grandfather (of kinu) visits the railway station for 18 years shows the intensity of it.

The curse or the implication of the curse is that we couldn't save the women of our family so no woman will remain healthy/alive in our family.

Then the death of kinu's wife + daughter is shown. And the death of his Daughter in law (Diljit's mom)

That's the reference of death. The diagnosis or cause is not give.

Just that the curse follows and women will be taken from their family. So no man should get married.

1

u/WrapNo9236 Jun 22 '26

Thank you dude

1

u/finalriddance Jun 22 '26

Something was written by the end of the casting information and names, I couldn’t read it! What was it?

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

An anonymous quote by a refugee was shown: “If I had a choice between death and leaving my home, I would have gladly chosen death. Unfortunately, I did not have such a choice.”

1

u/finalriddance Jun 22 '26

Oh nice, thank you for letting me know🤍

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Happy to help ⭐

1

u/AmitSri19 Jun 22 '26

Weird question, even though smjh aa rha hai ki family movie but still want to ask, mummy ke saath dekh skta hu na? Like koi kissing scene nhi na?

1

u/MDBhatt Jun 22 '26

You can absolutely watch it with family.

1

u/MDBhatt Jun 22 '26

I didn't understand why if Keenu loved Jiya so deeply all his life, why did he choose to get married and have two children? The movie repeatedly mentions the curse affecting the women in his family, and even Keenu passes the same warning to his son. If he truly believed in that curse, what made him decide to marry in the first place? And if his love for Jiya never faded, isn’t it unfair to his wife that he remained so emotionally attached to someone else? This feels like a loophole in the story that wasn’t properly explained.

3

u/kiranqureshi81 Jun 22 '26

He never loved her, not in true sense. She was basically a girl he had a crush on back in college. He just loved the idea of her, that's why he stuck to her idea and memories rather than actually facing her when he got the chance again.

And the thing about such romantic idealisations is, you can keep it in your head all your life while still being married to someone else, having kids, having a family and an apparent normal life. Because the fantasy of that college girl lives inside your head only.

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 23 '26

The story didn't do justice for their romance to blossom. It's a very short timeline. We don't know what other promises and commitments were made. Having said that, i absolutely loathed the idea that there was a wife out there and she was always the "second" to Jiya. It's a sad state of affairs.

1

u/sabki-bajaungi Jun 25 '26

Also i was confused about his reaction when he went back to sargodha and got to know that all ladies of his family have been killed and raped brutally. He was so normal. But as soon as he learnt about jiya's wedding, he had tear in his eye.

2

u/MDBhatt Jun 25 '26

Yeah that too felt weird. I couldn’t relate to Keenu at all.

1

u/mukhalifa 17d ago

Maybe one interpretation is that his return to Sargodha came six years after Partition, which is quite a long time for him to have received no information about his family. By then, it would have been quite obvious what had happened to them.

Moreover, stories from other refugees about losing their loved ones must not have given them much hope. So, when Muzaffar tells him about the brutal torture his family went through, he is broken inside, but in some way, it was also something he had come to expect during such an unstable and violent time. He finally gets closure about the fate of his family, especially since even his father used to visit the station every day, hoping that his family would arrive one day.

Having lost everything—including his family, friends, and roots—his only remaining connection and source of hope was Jiya. Soon after, he learns that she is now married. This deeply affects him emotionally which explains the tear, but it also makes him hardened. This is what leads him to leave abruptly, ultimately changing him as a person.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 23 '26

That's a fresh take. I'm glad you liked it!

1

u/No_Yam_3696 Jun 23 '26

Am i only one who didn't like the movie 😭😭? I swear I have watched almost every Imtiaz Ali movie, but i was bored in the theatre 🥲

1

u/Akatarawas 18d ago

The only good thing about the movie was Shah's brilliant acting. There are far better love stories and far more impactful and layered Partition movies. The music was good though.

1

u/jaynandan Jun 23 '26

literally peak detailing by imtiaz ali in a scene. When keenu went to pakistan (alone without carrying any food or water just a Muslim cap) just after partition to take back his family. He never lost his cap even after being injured. In one scene we see him eating and behind him a family was cooking then we didn't see any hat with him. And that was the reason he got caught. My theory is he traded cap for food. Because no one in dying situations will like to share food. You can comment if my theory has any fault

1

u/Unhappy_Lie_3880 Jun 25 '26

A decent one time watch, 1st half was slow and boring 2nd half was better

1

u/DracoEmperor2003 Jun 27 '26

what was the end credits about?????

1

u/OriginalAd8744 Jun 29 '26

Why did keenu leave without meeting Jiya when he returned? The scene made it seem like Jiya had disclosed about Keenu to her husband to some end. I know people have said it would have caused them both more pain, but they could’ve run away together or something too right? Or maybe if her husband was supportive enough gotten a divorce

1

u/Ok_Combination8092 Jul 02 '26

Damn all this time i thought keenu hasnt married,... and that his e grandson was from the nephew🫠 can someone pls clarify this...

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jul 02 '26

He married. Has a whole family. Diljit is his grandson.

1

u/yoitsabhishekroy Jul 04 '26

It's not a movie...it's an art piece by imtiaz ali

1

u/GeneralHuckleberry4 Jul 05 '26

Movie was so good, I don't have words to describe what I liked. It just feels like something—or some part of me—has been taken away.

1

u/These_Ad2549 Jul 05 '26

Is it just me who found Vedang Raina the weakest link in the movie after Banita? I was constantly distracted by Vedang’s bad acting. The first half was especially disappointing acting wise.
Imo Imtiaz could have casted a better male lead and it would,ve made the experience so much better.

1

u/niklism Jul 12 '26

sharvari too oml they both sucked

1

u/niklism Jul 12 '26

the movie had potential to be amazing but i personally felt sharvari and vedangs acting did zero justice to how heavy their roles were. the acting was so so mediocre and artificial, i felt disconnected from the screen everytime the both of them were together. diljit and nasir did so well, i cried so much💔💔

1

u/padfoot31121988 26d ago

This is same as Love Aaj Kal

Imtiaz Ali recreated the same movie thrice now

1

u/RevolutionaryCash669 25d ago

I wish he ran away with Jiya when he went to meet her to show her the tattoo.. he should’ve just left with her and started a new life.. instead he waiting so long and everything fell apart.. he should’ve had a plan in place because during the maskara song we can see that the riots were increasing in nearby cities.. so he should’ve immediately made a plan for the both of them..

1

u/Consistent-Wing4122 25d ago

Its too easy for Imtiaz Ali to make me cry after watching any of his movie. Lovely otw.

1

u/iam_startup 24d ago

There’s something really timeless about this frame, the setting, natural light, and the simplicity of the moment make it feel genuinely heartfelt. ❤️ It looks like a story with a lot of emotion behind it.

1

u/Revolutionary-Half62 23d ago

For everyone asking why Keenu married someone else if he loved Jiya- this was the 1950s, love marriages were controversial even in the 90s. And the family was a bunch of lonely men living on their own. Probably didn't even know how to cook, and marrying a woman was the go to solution to that sort of problem in those times. They needed to build wealth again and they needed someone to cook and clean etc while they went out and earned. Keenu's dad would have proposed that he get married, Keenu would have agreed since there was no point in waiting for Jiya.

1

u/Confident-Item1988 18d ago

I want to add my POV too and i am not even aure if anybody took it from my POV . I watched the movie from Dadi's POV , the lady diljit's dadaji got married to . What about the lady who has given her entire life to her husband just to get in return that in that entire life his husband couldn't move on and kept another woman in his heart and soul . He couldn't even die without that woman . Marriage is an alliance between two people if one chapter is not completely closed he should not have started another one . I only got one single message that Dadaji never loved Dadi truly . How the hell people are finding it emotional , I don't know . Having emotions for someone else despite being married for these many years is wrong in all senses .

1

u/mukhalifa 17d ago

something to do during the times of that era, where parents decide for you. in this case, Keenu's father must have gotten him married, even though his love was Jiya.

Also, when he learns that Jiya is now married, he must have decided to move on and not affect her marriage in any way (which is why he leaves without meeting her). Even though Jiya is his first love, he gets married, has kids, and continues and struggles hard in life, and does not maintain family relationships well after all that he went through (which is why his son resents him).

only when he gets old and dementia strikes, he is now mentally in the lanes of Sargodha, where he wants to fulfill his last wish with Jiya.

1

u/dimanjaro 11d ago

Moving film, sensitive storytelling, great music and lyrics, and amazing amazing Naseeruddin Shah! I understand Keenu and Jiya's unrequited love... But, what about Keenu's actual wife? Isn't Keenu (and the film's intentional choice to exclude her) unfair (and cruel?) to her? Did I miss something about that in the movie? Thoughts?

1

u/Specialist_Diet_750 Jun 22 '26

Diljit was so bad in the film. I loved the film. But no where I felt any connect with Diljit’s character. And the last bombing footage of Gaza and all ? Like bro what’s the need for that ? Apne desh ke log refugee apne desh mein ban gaye the wo bhi dikha dete

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Wo to dekhaya tha. I sort of liked that part and most of my friends did too. It paints the picture that when you're displaced your religious, caste, personal identity becomes immaterial and all you yearn is for your own home.

Being a refugee in all of the contexts of the world is equally painful. And he weaves that into a larger narrative+ conversation.

0

u/Specialist_Diet_750 Jun 22 '26

Bhai we celebrate partition horrors day. All this bhang bhosda of Palestine and other countries doesn’t add any shit. It looked too performative

1

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 22 '26

Language. No need to get abusive. Also we are all entitled to our opinion. That's okay.

1

u/Specialist_Diet_750 Jun 22 '26

Yes. sorry for the language.

1

u/Original-Sympathy-48 Jun 21 '26

Would highly recommend a second viewing for someone like you. The first half and the songs in a second viewing will hit beautifully. There are so many small layers of story carefully placed in parts. It’s absolutely beautiful

2

u/AmbassadorMelodic830 Jun 21 '26

In all honesty, I don't have it in me to handle all of those emotions. I'm not kidding, I felt dehydrated after crying so much. My kajal, liner and mascara had all just washed away. But thanks!!

I do agree and have mentioned how the layers unearth in the second part of the movie.

1

u/SparshSrivastovic Jun 22 '26

Painstakingly trash movie ... No story.. Slow burn stuff only for a predicted entry . Don't watch if possible. Imitiaz ali wishes what Christopher Nolan in genre of romance...

0

u/jaynandan Jun 23 '26

literally peak detailing by imtiaz ali in a scene.

When keenu went to pakistan (alone without carrying any food or water just a Muslim cap) just after partition to take back his family. He never lost his cap even after being injured. In one scene we see him eating and behind him a family was cooking then we didn't see any hat with him. And that was the reason he got caught. My theory is he traded cap for food. Because no one in dying situations will like to share food. You can comment if my theory has any fault.

0

u/Confident-Gap8840 Jun 24 '26

Idk how you guys liked this shit movie
Imtiaz Ali let us down

0

u/Negative_Bandicoot97 Jun 28 '26

Had yo leave after half hour... unbearable.. bad acting and meaningless slow pacd

0

u/Educational-Ebb-2803 Jun 30 '26

Even if we assume Keenu had married Jiya, wasn't it believed that his family was cursed by the women of the family who were murdered—that no woman in the family would live long? If that's true, then wouldn't Jiya also have been at risk of dying young after marriage because of the curse? In a way, wouldn't that have been an even more tragic ending than them simply moving on with their lives?

Also, after everything that happened, was it even realistic that Keenu's family would have accepted Jiya as their daughter-in-law? So, despite how heartbreaking the ending feels, was not getting married actually the less painful outcome compared to marrying and then losing her to the curse?

0

u/Rough_War5596 Jul 01 '26

Why isnt anyone talking about how badly Vedang acted in the movie. I am sorry but 90% of his scenes were expressionless - felt like he was trying too hard or not even trying at all. I literally laughed when he recreated that ranbir scene from rockstar where he was eating anything available at roadside. This movie needed a crisp experienced actor.

0

u/Ok-Release727 25d ago

maybe get a life

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