‘Otherwise it can be rage-bait’: Why Main Vaapas Aaunga writer balanced Partition scenes | Bollywood News
4 min readMumbaiJul 19, 2026 06:07 PM IST Imtiaz Ali’s period coming-of-age film Main Vaapas Aaunga has been unanimously applauded for its take on Partition and reconciliation. It revolves around a 95-year-old man Ishwar’s (Naseeruddin Shah) desire to visit his hometown of Sargodha in Pakistan, much to the confusion of his family, including his grandson Nirvair (Diljit Dosanjh). Now, the film’s co-writer Nayanika Mahtani has opened up on several aspects of the film and its themes that continue to resonate with the audience across the country. How Nayanika Mahtani met Imtiaz Ali Nandita chanced upon a meeting with Imtiaz in Mussoorie, where she handed him her last novel, Across The Line, also based on Partition. Since he was also exploring a Partition tale then, he asked her to write 20-30 pages on the subject. Imtiaz, impressed by the direction she took her story in, replied to her, “We are on.” Staying clear of ‘otherness’ “I was, of course, thrilled to be telling a Partition story, and that too with the sensibility that Imtiaz brings to …









