Main Vaapas Aaunga (transl. 'I will return') is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Imtiaz Ali. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari and Vedang Raina in lead roles, with Vinod Nagpal, Dolly Ahluwalia, Rajat Kapoor, Sanjay Suri, Manish Chaudhari, Anjana Sukhani, Banita Sandhu and Danish Pandor in supporting roles. The film centres on a grandson who cares for his dying, dementia-stricken grandfather as the elderly man revisits memories of a tragic romance during the partition of British India. Principal photography began in August 2025 and ended in December 2025.
The film was theatrically released on 12 June 2026. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, with unanimous praise for Shah's performance. It emerged as a sleeper hit. It is the 10th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2026.
Contents
Plot
95-year-old Ishar Singh Grewal/Keenu suffers a stroke and is on his deathbed. Despite failing health and advancing dementia, he refuses to let go of life, desperately muttering about returning to his ancestral home in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. His grandson, Nirvair, returns from London and acting as his caregiver attempts to make sense of his disjointed ramblings.
The story goes back 78 years to British India. A younger Ishar is a rowdy young college student who loves jazz and cricket, but is painfully awkward around young women. He falls in love with a young Muslim woman named Afsana/Jiya. Their budding romance is abruptly shattered by the violence and mass migration of the Partition of British India. When Sikhs are forced to leave for East Punjab in India, Keenu and the men of his family flee, leaving both their female relatives and Jiya behind in the chaos. Having vowed to Jiya that he will never leave without her permission, Keenu returns six years after Partition to find his female relatives and reunite with Jiya, but he learns the bitter truth of what happened after the men fled. Broken by his experiences during Partition and haunted by the disturbing fate of his female relatives, Keenu becomes a cold, angry man who terrorizes his family and has no close friends.
Nirvair investigates his grandfather’s past to give him peace, teasing the truth out of his grandfather’s ramblings with help from historians, archives and his reluctant great-uncle, Pali. In Keenu’s final days, Nirvair takes advantage of his British passport and crosses into Pakistan, locating Jiya's family. He discovers a devastating truth: Jiya died 10 years prior, having spent her life waiting for Keenu to fulfill his promise to return. Through a video call, Keenu sees Jiya’s portrait, and hallucinates a vision of a young Jiya. Elated that he can finally recite a poem he wrote for her long ago, Keenu finally asks Jiya for permission to leave. She grants it, allowing him to pass away peacefully.
The film ends with footage of real refugees across the world, enduring the same trauma and suffering as Keenu and the countless refugees caught in the crossfire of Partition.
Production
Development
The film was announced in June 2025, with Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina, Sharvari, and Banita Sandhu joining the cast. It is the second collaboration between director Imtiaz Ali and Diljit Dosanjh.
Filming
Principal photography for the film commenced in Punjab in October 2025.
Soundtrack
The film's music is composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. The first single titled "Kya Kamaal Hai", was released on 17 April 2026. The second single "Maskara" was released on 5 May 2026.
Marketing
On 13 March 2026, four first-look posters were unveiled.
On 7 June 2026, A.R Rahman, Nilanjana Ghosh, Vedang Raina, Mohit Chauhan, and Pooja Tiwari performed live at Attari–Wagah border ceremony in Attari, Amritsar. Imtiaz Ali who was also present there along with cast and crew of the film, said, "I am privileged to be a part of this troupe, and it is magical that this event is around Main Vaapas Aaunga, a film that originates from the making of the border during the Partition of 1947. Not only homes and lives were lost, but hearts were broken as well. We bring a message of love because, ultimately, only love sustains us."
Release
Theatrical
Main Vaapas Aaunga was released on 12 June 2026. It was earlier planned to release in April 2026, coinciding with Baisakhi.
Home media
The film began streaming on Netflix from 7 August 2026.
Reception
Box office
On its opening day, the film earned ₹1.28 crore at the domestic box office.
Main Vaapas Aaunga grossed ₹98.2 crore (US$10 million) worldwide. It grossed ₹77.75 crore (US$8.1 million) in India and ₹20.45 crore (US$2.1 million) in overseas market.
On 31 July 2026, the film completed 50 days at the box office.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.70/10.
Sukanya Verma of rediff.com gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a 'rare gem' and writing, "At a time when the politics of hostility has engulfed the world and escalated it into senseless wars -- most evocatively captured in the end credits song Kya Kamaal Hai filled with devastating images of uprooted victims from conflict torn lands -- Main Vaapas Aaunga's unwavering belief in love is a testament to cinema's uplifting gifts."
Ria Sharma of The Free Press Journal also gave the film 4 stars out of 5, concluding, "Yes, the film could have been slightly shorter, especially in the first half. But that's just a small complaint in an otherwise beautiful cinematic experience. Main Vaapas Aaunga is packed with love, loss, longing and hope. It is emotional and heartbreaking. This is the kind of film that stays with you long after the credits roll."
Kartik Bhardwaj of Cinema Express also gave the film 4 stars out of 5, noting, "Main Vaapas Aaunga is about Punjab, about the buried trauma of the refugees and how pain gives birth to patriarchy."
Gayatri Nirmal of Pinkvilla also gave the film 4 stars out of 5, concluding, "After a long dry spell, Hindi cinema finally delivers a profound love story that will leave your heart racing and your eyes moist long after you step out of the theater. True to the Imtiaz Ali universe, the iconic tradition of a lead character eating in isolation makes a poetic return."
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and described the film as "an astounding take on Partition trauma". She particularly praised Naseeruddin Shah's performance, calling it "superbly-judged". Aishani of Outlook India reviewed the film and gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that Diljit Dosanjh and Naseeruddin Shah anchor a moving story of memory, migration and longing. Anuj Kumar of The Hindu described the movie as "an evocative exploration of memory, loss and longing, praising Imtiaz Ali's storytelling and the performances of Naseeruddin Shah and Diljit Dosanjh".