‘Otherwise it can be rage-bait’: Why Main Vaapas Aaunga writer balanced Partition scenes

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 it, because I was very clear that I didn’t want to tell a story where there would be the ‘other’ or the ‘otherness.’ I would rather not tell a story than tell that kind of a story,” Nayanika Mahtani  told Mid-Day.

Since all four of her grandparents were migrants from Pakistan, Main Vaapas Aaunga is a deeply personal story for Nayanika. She even revealed that her nani (maternal grandmother) was from Sargodha. “Whenever my nani spoke about Sargodha, she talked about only happy memories. There was never bitterness. There was never rancour. And imagine how many reasons she had to be bitter,” said the writer.

Even her paternal grandparents — who were from Lahore and Rawalpindi respectively — spoke very fondly of their time in Pakistan. “Their best friends remained Muslims. I have never seen in that generation an ounce of rancour. So, when we were telling this story, even Imtiaz had the same sensibility, that there was no otherness,” added Nayanika.

Diljit Dosanjh was recently seen in Main Vaapas Aaunga

She reasoned that while many people from that generation, including Ishwar in the film, battled PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from Partition, they never addressed it as much as they could have. “Ishar Grewal is not a nice man. He’s a bitter man. But look at what he went through. And this is where closure comes, because we just judged them on what we saw, but there was something they didn’t talk about,” said Nayanika.

“There was something that never got mentioned. So many of them dealt with PTSD. But nobody was going to talk about it, because Independence coincided with partition, and that took centre stage. So, you were not allowed to be unhappy. But imagine on that Independence eve, every year, what they would have thought,” she added.

Nayanika also stressed the importance of portraying the human cost of Partition from both sides of the border. “One thing both Imtiaz and I were very (certain about). I told him, ‘We have to have a scene where we see Muslims being killed.’ So, that scene in the train where Keenu’s hat falls off, and the one when the train arrives at the Lahore station, and Afzal finds his whole family dead. So, we see both sides, and there’s a balanced view. Otherwise, it can be rage-bait,” argued Nayanika.

Still running in theatres, Main Vaapas Aaunga has earned over Rs 58 crore in 25 days.