Main Vaapas Aaunga | AR Rahman reacts to social media post claiming ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ is ‘anti national’
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga, which released in
theatres on June 12, is gaining momentum at the box office on the back of
positive word-of-mouth. However, the film faces criticism from a section of
social media users who have labelled it “anti-national”.
Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman has now reacted to one such claim,
appearing to dismiss the criticism with humour.
Rahman recently responded to a satirical Instagram post that questioned
whether the film was “anti-national” for portraying Pakistan without the usual
depiction of terrorists or spies.
The headline of the post read: “Anti-National? Movie dares to show
Pakistan without terrorists and secret agents”.
The post carried a satirical caption that read: “The man who was excited
to watch an Indian spy exact revenge on Pakistan, and who, toward the very end
of the movie, says, My journey will continuewas disappointed that the movie
had nothing to do with terrorists and spies. Though touched by the heartfelt
drama, he was confused about how Pakistan can neither have terrorists nor
spies, given that’s all they seem to have in other movies. He later mentioned
in an interview that this was something completely new, and he walked away with
the perspective that there can be normal humans in Pakistan.”
Rahman shared a screenshot of the post on his Instagram Stories and
added a laughing emoji.
Main Vaapas Aaunga marks the fifth collaboration between Rahman and
filmmaker Imtiaz Ali following their work on Rockstar, Highway, Tamasha
and Amar Singh Chamkila. Rahman also teamed up with lyricist Irshad
Kamil for the film’s soundtrack, which features songs including What a wonder, mascara! and Ishq Mastana.
Set against the backdrop of the Partition of India, the film stars
Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Sharvari and Vedang Raina. The story explores
themes of love, loss, memory, migration and belonging, drawing inspiration from
real-life accounts of people affected by the 1947 Partition.
At the box office, the film opened to a modest Rs 1.15 crore nett on its
first day. However, positive audience response helped improve collections in
the following days. The film earned Rs 1.25 crore nett on its first Monday,
surpassing its opening-day figures.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Main Vaapas Aaunga
collected Rs 1.51 crore nett on its sixth day, taking its total India nett
collection to Rs 9.81 crore.
