‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’: How audiences’ tears revived the fate of Imtiaz Ali’s film

When Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga was released in theatres on June 12, it met with a lukewarm response. With empty theatres and little hype surrounding it, the film managed to earn just over ₹12.25 crore in its first week, according to industry tracker Sacnilk . All of that changed in the subsequent week as the epic Partition romance started catching up with people, slowly becoming the highlight of social media feeds, with audiences reacting emotionally to its second half. Soon, the film created an unusual trend of people recording themselves as they cried while watching the climax, a pattern similar to last year’s sleeper hit, Saiyaara . And the resounding tears also brought in numbers as the Imtiaz Ali directorial’s second week collections doubled up.