Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has shared an emotional note appreciating Imtiaz Ali’s latest release, Main Vaapas Aaunga. In an exclusive statement shared with Variety India, Bhatt described the film as one that looks beyond spectacle and commercial formulas to explore universal human emotions such as longing, belonging and self-discovery.
“There are films that arrive with drums and trumpets, announcing themselves like conquerors. And there are films that arrive quietly, carrying only the fragile cargo of a human heart. Main Vaapas Aaunga belongs to the latter category.”
Mahesh Bhatt on Main Vaapas Aaunga: “A film that listens to the human spirit”
Bhatt observed that contemporary cinema is often driven by spectacle, speed and commercial appeal. Against that backdrop, he believes Main Vaapas Aaunga stands apart by focusing on the inner journey of its characters.
He wrote, “We live in an age where cinema is increasingly driven by velocity, spectacle and testosterone. The marketplace rewards certainty, noise and instant gratification. In such a climate, a film that pauses to listen to the deeper movements of the human spirit is almost an act of rebellion.”
According to Bhatt, what stayed with him was not simply the story itself, but the deeper emotional current running through it.
“What moved me about Main Vaapas Aaunga is not merely its story. It is the thirst that runs beneath it.”
He went on to describe this “thirst” as humanity’s enduring search for understanding, belonging and meaning.
Mahesh Bhatt draws parallels with Highway and his own films
Bhatt also reflected on Imtiaz Ali’s earlier work Highway, recalling how the film explored the hidden trauma experienced by many young women despite its modest commercial performance.
“Years ago, when I watched Highway, I felt that Imtiaz Ali had heard something that many of us had missed. Beneath the surface of that film was the silent scream of violated young girls hidden within the presumed safety of homes and families.”
He added that the same creative instinct appears to guide Main Vaapas Aaunga, saying that cinema is at its most powerful when it helps audiences confront the questions they quietly carry within themselves.
Bhatt also connected the themes of the film to his own body of work, including Arth, Saaransh and Zakhm. He wrote that although the stories differ, they all revolve around the same emotional longing.
“The forms change. The thirst remains.”
Mahesh Bhatt says Main Vaapas Aaunga “deserves to be celebrated”
Acknowledging that many had written off the film early, Bhatt said audiences often recognise authenticity beyond commercial expectations.
He noted that while the marketplace may judge films by the numbers, viewers can identify stories that speak to something deeper.
In conclusion, Bhatt praised the personal stamp that Imtiaz Ali has left on the film: “Films will come and go. Trends will come and go. Algorithms will come and go. What remains are works that bear the fingerprints of the human being who made them. Main Vaapas Aaunga bears those fingerprints. And for that reason alone, it deserves to be celebrated.”
Imtiaz Ali is yet to react to Mahesh Bhatt’s note.
The post Mahesh Bhatt calls Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga a film that “deserves to be celebrated”; compares it to Highway, Arth and Saaransh appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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