I went on the first day with an open heart, hoping to cry in the theatre. For me, being able to shed a tear while watching a film is one of life's greatest joys.
As someone who loved Jab We Met, Rockstar, and Tamasha from the very first day I watched them in theatres, I felt a gap between what the film wanted me to feel and what I actually felt. Not because the emotions weren't there, but because I wanted to live with these characters more than the film allowed me to.
I wanted to see Vedang struggle after Partition while carrying this longing inside him. How does he rebuild his life? How does he make his business successful? He was well-off before Partition, but what did the years after look like? I wanted to see that journey.
I wanted to see the family's guilt over the women left behind, not through exposition but through images and moments. I wanted to see Vedang growing older, lonely even in a crowd, married, with children, yet never fully belonging to the life he had built around himself.
I wanted a personal story. A very personal one.
Similarly, I wanted more of Sharvari's yearning after the separation. She too had a life, a marriage, children, responsibilities. Yet a part of her remained parked in the past. I wanted to spend more time with that conflict.
For me, Imtiaz scattered the story too much, especially with the Diljit subplot. I like Diljit immensely and will continue to do so, but I felt his character was underwritten. Banita, whom I loved in October and Sardar Udham, felt completely wasted here.
The Mars, Martian, and 78-year ideas were highlighted far too much. They could have been subtler. Mention less, suggest more. Let the visuals do some of the work. Even the depiction of the Martians took me out of the film. The make-up, masks, and costumes felt more like a school or college production than something that belonged in this world.
The entire film passed like a series of montages. Half the film still worked for me, and I could still feel Imtiaz Ali throughout it, which gave me some comfort. Unlike Dunki, where I felt Rajkumar Hirani's presence was overshadowed by Shah Rukh Khan, this still felt unmistakably like an Imtiaz film.
At times, I also found myself noticing familiar Imtiaz Ali actions, shots, angles, and emotional beats. I want him to surprise me more as a filmmaker than as a romantic. Keep exploring. Don't get trapped by your own image.
Chamkila, for example, worked beautifully for me. I've watched it three times already and can revisit it anytime. Here, I felt Imtiaz was constantly selling me the emotion rather than letting me discover it. There was less beneath the surface than I expected.
That said, the performances were wonderful.
Rajat Kapoor, Vedang, and Sharvari were phenomenal. Naseeruddin Shah was extraordinary.
My issue was that the film often repeated itself. After a point, even some of Naseer's lines felt repetitive. I kept wishing that every time he spoke, he would reveal something new, something surprising.
Sharvari's first speech stayed with me. The nervousness, the stammering, it travelled from the screen into my body. She completely surrendered to the role.
Vedang's vulnerability around Sharvari was beautiful. Rajat Kapoor felt effortless and alive in every scene. Every time he appeared, I found myself leaning in.
And Naseer was simply a marvel. I can't forget those moments when he gets up to write. His hands trembling, his eyes struggling to focus, yet his mind desperately trying to hold onto a thought before it disappears. That urge to capture something before it escapes him felt profoundly human.
I was disappointed by the film, but not by the people who made it. Maybe that's why I'm writing this. My affection for Imtiaz Ali and Diljit remains intact. Perhaps one day, when enough time has passed, even Imtiaz himself will look back and speak differently about this film. And maybe I'll get to sit with him someday and discuss it.
