- Imtiaz Ali said actors perform with each other, not against each other, in films
- Main Vaapas Aaunga stars Naseeruddin Shah, Sharvari, Vedang Raina, and Diljit Dosanjh
- The film is set just before the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan
Actors act with each other and not against one another, says filmmaker Imtiaz Ali who is receiving a lot of love for his latest movie Main Vaapas Aaunga.
Set days before the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Main Vaapas Aaunga is a story of love, longing, and healing. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Sharvari, Vedang Raina, and Diljit Dosanjh in key roles.
While the film is fronted by Naseeruddin Shah's towering performance as Ishar, a dying old man with dementia, its core is the young love story chronicled through the characters of Keenu and Jiya, played by Vedang Raina and Sharvari.
Fans are divided between who they like more: Sharvari or Vedang Raina?
When asked who he thinks did the better job between the two upcoming actors, Imtiaz Ali gave a measured response.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, director Imtiaz Ali spoke about how both Sharvari and Vedang Raina have found their audiences through his film Main Vaapas Aaunga.
He said, "Acting is not like boxing. It's not a competition. People act with each other, and not against each other. Both the actors are being praised. Some have liked Vedang's work more, some have liked Sharvari more."
In his 21 years as a director, Imtiaz Ali has given many onscreen romantic couples. The list boasts of names such as Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor in Jab We Met, Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan in Love Aaj Kal, Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor in Tamasha, as well as Ayesha Takia and Abhay Deol in his 2005 debut Socha Na Tha.
The filmmaker has finally found his 'favourites'. Hint: It's not Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor from Jab We Met.
Things have changed for Imtiaz Ali after Main Vaapas Aaunga, which hit the screens on June 12.
"But as a director, the scenes were really good when these two (Sharvari and Vedang) were together. I haven't seen a better team of co-actors in my career. Sharvari and Vedang have been there for each other as a team," he added.
Imtiaz Ali's film is a meaningful addition to the collection of Partition stories that are deeply woven into the social fabric of India and Pakistan.
It's purely coincidental that Main Vaapas Aaunga was released during the 25th-anniversary celebrations of two of such films Lagaan and Gadar. Imtiaz Ali previously described it as "an amazing coincidence" that Main Vaapas Aaunga released as Indian cinema marks the silver jubilee of those 2001 blockbusters.
"There's something magical in it. In a way, Main Vaapas Aaunga is the child of Gadar and Lagaan. This has the same period and history that those two films have... I congratulate the makers and the teams of both Gadar and Lagaan," he said.
Main Vaapas Aaunga also stars Rajat Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia, Vinod Nagpal, Manish Chaudhari, Anjana Sukhani, Danish Pandor and Mashhoor Amrohi. The film is set to cross the Rs 50 crore mark globally in gross box office collections.
Also Read | How Main Vaapas Aaunga Is Helping Heal Partition's Generational Trauma
