Main Vaapas Aaunga box office collection day 1: Imtiaz Ali film collects just ₹1.15 crore, fails to beat Love Aajkal 2

Main Vaapas Aaunga box office collection day 1: Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama shows a love story affected by partition.

Main Vaapas Aaunga box office collection day 1: Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali's much-awaited romantic drama Main Vaapas Aaunga hit theatres on June 12. Starring Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina and Sharvari, the film opened to positive reviews from both critics and audiences. However, despite the strong word of mouth and favourable reception, the appreciation has not translated into impressive box-office numbers so far.

Main Vaapas Aaunga box office collection day 1: Diljit Dosanjh in a film from the Imtiaz Ali film.

Main Vaapas Aaunga box office collection

According to the trade website Sacnilk, Main Vaapas Aaunga collected ₹1.15 crore net in India on its opening day from 2302 shows with an occupancy of 11%. The film has collected much lower than Imtiaz’s previous release, Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan’s Love Aaj Kal 2 (2020), which brought in ₹12.40 crore net in India on its opening day despite being panned upon its release. With the weekend approaching, it remains to be seen if positive reviews and good word of mouth have any bearing on the film’s collections in the coming days.

About Main Vaapas Aaunga

Main Vaapas Aaunga is directed by Imtiaz Ali and stars Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina and Sharvari. The film tells the story of a 95-year-old man who suffers a stroke while desperately trying to rush to Pakistan. His grandson is able to piece together bits and pieces from a pre-partition past as the old man drifts in and out of recollection, but struggles to find peace in his final days. The film attempts to understand the human impact long after the borders were drawn.

Imtiaz told PTI, “I feel that this is the personal story of thousands and thousands of people. When they crossed the border, when they came to this side from the other, against their choice, they carried their 'potlis', trunks, jewellery and money. But they also carried love in their hearts. This love later became memories, which then became a kind of a personal jewel that they could return to at any moment when they felt too down or depressed.”

Hindustan Times’ review of Main Vaapas Aaunga reads: “Overall, perhaps what lingers most about Main Vaapas Aaunga is that it isn't really a film about Partition or even lost love. It's a film about memory itself. About the people and emotions that refuse to leave us, even when everything else begins to fade. In an era where Hindi cinema often mistakes scale for feeling, Main Vaapas Aaunga delivers something far rarer: a deeply human story. It may stumble occasionally, but when it soars, it reaches the kind of emotional heights few filmmakers today can access. By the time the credits roll, you are left with moist eyes, and the lingering ache of a story that refuses to leave you long after you have left the theatre.”