HT Leadership Summit 2026: Imtiaz Ali never thought Main Vaapas Aaunga was a risky film, says ‘there was no Pakistan, only undivided India’
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and star Ananya Panday were guests at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday. While there, the duo spoke about cinema and discussed their work to HT's Sonal Kalra. Imtiaz spoke about his recent rollout, Main Vaapas Aaunga , which appeals to Gen Z despite being set during the India-Pakistan partition. He also remarked that the movie was not depicting Pakistan, just an undivided India.
Adding to this, Imtiaz argued that his movie wasn’t risky because it didn’t depict Pakistan. “I knew that there was no Pakistan in my movie; it was undivided India,” he pointed out, adding, “Because those portions lay across a border that was later established.”
Meanwhile, Imtiaz shared that meeting many who lived during the Partition inspired the tale: “I felt that meeting a lot of individuals that have seen Partition from their own eyes, and listening to their stories, I realised that the narration of the third generation of partition survivors is missing in the media space now. We don’t know how a 75-year-old person views partition now, 78 years after the Partition and independence of the country. His view is very different from the first-generation refugee.”
Notably, Talking about the movie’s subject further, Imtiaz shared that those who lived through Parition tend to remember beautiful moments more than the immediate anger or loss they felt then. "This is the victory of human emotion, I feel. That it tends to remember the beautiful things, happy things, rather than the negative ones. I learnt this in meeting these elderly gentlemen and ladies that have gone through partition. And this was not represented in cinema. So I thought, I must do this. And I must do this at the time when some of them are still with us.”
As per the latest buzz, Imtiaz reiterated that he never believed Main Vaapas Aaunga had anything that would potentially hurt anyone, stating, “No, I wasn’t ever thinking that there’s going to be anything in the movie that is going to be controversial or hurtful to anybody. I never thought it’s a risky movie.”
In further updates, Imtiaz also spoke about how he always believed that Main Vaapas Aaunga would appeal to Gen Z, stating, “Nobody told me that Gen Z will not relate, because I’m very convinced that the Gen Z more than anyone will relate to a painful love story. I think painful love story is their thing. That’s because some of them miss it. Some of them miss the kind of commitment that they see in films or read in books in their own life. It has become difficult to get into that kind of situation or commitment.”
On top of that, Main Vaapas Aaunga was rolled out in June and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari, and Vedang Raina in lead roles. It is available to stream on Netflix.
Despite having a Master's degree in Journalism and over a decade of experience in print and digital media as a field reporter and sub-editor at organisations such as The Times of India and Reader's Digest, Neeshita Nyayapati remains a movie buff first and a Chief Content Producer second. She fell in love with movies in childhood and believes nothing matches the magic of watching a good movie that moves you with a warm tub of popcorn in hand. Her love for writing about cinema follows that. Come Friday, you'll find her at her happy place, the movies, catching the latest rom-com or masala offering, for reviews or otherwise. As for the rest of the week, she's here reporting the juiciest news in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi or bringing out the best of celebs in interviews. While her niche is Telugu cinema, Neeshita likes to dabble in a little bit of everything to stay up to date. From movie announcements to scandals and hard news angles, she has explored it all. A good book, a comforting cup of hot chocolate, puppy kisses and a stunning beach view are all she needs to unwind. Her passion for biking and travelling has taken her to various places across the country. She has found peace in everything from the frozen lakes of Gangtok to the coffee plantations of Coorg and the dense forests of Bandipur, to the monasteries of Darjeeling. But no matter where she goes, Neeshita loves coming across inspiring and moving stories. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times