Imtiaz Ali’s recent release Main Vaapas Aaunga starring Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari and Vedang Raina has been getting acclaim from all over, but the box office figures of the film are not that high. However, the filmmaker is unperturbed. “Now, there is an uptrend in the sale of tickets. The figures are improving if you see the sales,” Imtiaz Ali says.
The filmmaker adds, “We are not a star-driven film, so this film was supposed to be like this. It couldn’t have opened big. If it is good, people would go and tell other people to watch it, and that’s the only way this film is going to progress. Hopefully it will continue to grow and strengthen itself.” Ali asserts that it’s the youth that is getting more inclined towards the film now. “I am particularly happy that the younger generation is coming in and liking it. Usually there is a phase lag between acclaim and box office, and hopefully we are coming close to the end of that lag,” he says.
Main Vaapas Aaunga has been mounted on a big scale with two considerable new actors, Vedang Raina and Sharvari, heading the central love story. In the uncertain times of box office, what made Ali confident about building a film of this scale with fresh faces? “I have great confidence in performances. I am a man, not from the trade, but from the art of filmmaking. I do understand the power of cinema and performance, and also the power of good casting. If all those things come together, then there is a certain power that is created,” he responds, adding, “I had no doubt that both these actors will be able to headline this story well, but I also knew that on the poster, there is also Diljit. Everybody in the world knows him and they are interested to see what he’s doing. I was sure that there was going to be a poster appeal because Diljit is there.”
The story of survivors from the partition also helped Ali understand the poignancy of it. “When I heard their stories of what they’ve seen and what they remember now after 78 years, it was something that I had not expected. These layers opened up in my mind because I realised that no love story can happen in a vacuum. It happens in the real world, and the real world of the era of partition is necessary for the setting of this love story between Keenu and Jia,” he asserts.
As the younger generation is connecting with a love story set 78 years in the past, Ali believes it’s because they are craving that love. “I feel that the younger generation is the one that needs love the most. They are the most lost and yet most seeking of love. If there was a way for them to get the kind of love relationship that was possible in the past, they would take that route. It’s very enchanting for them to imagine that kind of commitment. It’s a very sensitive and romantic generation. But it’s also a generation that has been misunderstood, misrepresented as though it is their fault that they are so flaky. Their lives are different from the previous generations but they are seeking more,” he asserts.
