Main Vaapas Aaunga Box Office Collection Day 1: Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali made his highly anticipated return to the silver screen with Main Vaapas Aaunga, a romantic drama rooted in love, loss, and long-lasting memories. Arriving in theatres on Friday, 12 June 2026, the film stars a talented ensemble cast featuring Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina, and Sharvari in key roles. However, despite generating strong critical acclaim and positive word of mouth ahead of its release, the project had a relatively modest opening day at the box office.
According to Sacnilk, Main Vaapas Aaunga collected an estimated Rs 1.15 crore net in India on its first day. The romantic drama was screened across 2,302 shows nationwide but recorded a quiet average theatre occupancy of just 11% throughout Friday.
The opening numbers for Main Vaapas Aaunga are significantly lower than those of Imtiaz Ali’s previous theatrical release, Love Aaj Kal (2020), which featured Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan. Even though that film received heavily mixed-to-negative reviews from critics at the time, it managed to pull in a massive Rs 12.40 crore net on its opening day.
Main Vaapas Aaunga Plot
At its core, Main Vaapas Aaunga tells the deeply moving story of a 95-year-old man who suffers a stroke while desperately trying to travel to Pakistan. As he drifts back and forth between reality and his memories, his grandson begins to piece together fragments of a personal story from the pre-Partition era. The narrative beautifully explores the lasting emotional scars left behind by separation and unfinished emotions.
Speaking to PTI about the central theme of the movie, director Imtiaz Ali shared, “I feel that this is the personal story of thousands and thousands of people. When they crossed the border, when they came to this side from the other, against their choice, they carried their ‘potlis’, trunks, jewellery and money. But they also carried love in their hearts. This love later became memories, which then became a kind of a personal jewel that they could return to at any moment when they felt too down or depressed."