If Jai had Veeru, Keenu had Aftab – that’s how we can best explain Harshul Kaul and Vedang Raina’s friendship in Imtiaz Ali’s recently-released Main Vaapas Aaunga. The film started slowly at the box office, but positive word of mouth helped the film achieve the status it did by the end of its 50th day in cinemas. Also, while a section of the audience loved the film, a few claimed that the film was ‘anti-national’.
Recently, India TV exclusively spoke to actor Harshul Kaul, who played the role of Aftab, Keenu’s closest aide in the film. Harshul strongly disagreed with the select ‘anti-national’ interpretation and explained why he felt the film’s message was quite the opposite. He also spoke about his equation with co-star Vedang Raina, who plays Keenu. Harshul revealed that the two did not know each other before working together, but their shared Kashmiri roots helped them connect almost instantly.
Harshul Kaul on the ‘anti-national’ tag for Main Vaapas Aaunga
Speaking about the select criticism on Main Vaapas Aaunga, Harshul Kaul said the label did not make sense to him, particularly given his own family’s experience of migration. He stressed that the film approaches partition through love and humanity rather than violence.
“I did not understand in what way it was anti-national. Because I am a Kashmiri Pandit myself. I am a migrant myself. If there is anything about the country, I will be the first person to stand up because I have heard from my family how the migration happened. So anti-national, I don’t understand where that comes from. Everything has been shown with love and affection in this film. Partition has been shown without violence. There is so much love and affection shown. The circumstances were bad, not the people. The circumstances became such that these things happened.”
He continued, “Whether it is India or Pakistan, partition was the biggest curse for our country. One body was cut into two halves. It is a wound that will always remain. So it was neither good for us nor for anyone else. Main Vaapas Aaunga does not give any anti-national feeling anywhere. It gives a message of love. It gives a message of affection. It shows how people should live with love and affection and help each other. Like Muzaffar Ahmed did for the Grewals. And his dialogue in the film also says, ‘No religion teaches us to take the life of an innocent.’ So how is this anti-national? It is saying, love people, live with love. As Indians, as Hindustanis, we believe in love and affection. This is our tradition. So this is not anti-national at all.”
Harshul recalls his first connection with Vedang Raina
Harshul and Vedang’s friendship in the film was loved by the audience. When asked about their chemistry, he said that he had not met Vedang before Main Vaapas Aaunga. However, Vedang was already known among Harshul’s circle because of his work in The Archies and Jigra. Coming from the same Kashmiri Pandit community, Harshul said his family felt proud of Vedang’s success.
“I did not know him beforehand. But there is an interesting story with Vedang too. Because I come from a Kashmiri family, and the Kashmiri Pandit community is very small. So we are like family. Brothers and sisters. If we meet someone for the first time, we feel, ‘Oh, you are like a family member. Come home, let’s eat.’ That is the kind of love we have among us. When I was in Delhi, Jigra had already come out. Before that, The Archies had come out. And Vedang became a name after The Archies, and then Jigra came out soon after. Vedang had become quite famous. So as Kashmiri Pandits, we all felt proud because whenever someone from Kashmir does well, whether in cricket, politics or acting, as a community we feel very proud.”
“My relatives used to give me Vedang’s example and tell me how hard he had worked, and that is why he is where he is today. So whenever I would go to Bombay, everyone knew that I wanted to become an actor. They would tell me that if I ever met him, I should ask him, as a Kashmiri, to guide me. ‘What is the roadmap? What is the right direction to become an actor? Do this, don’t do this, follow this path’. I said, ‘Why not? He is also my age. If I ever meet him, I will definitely ask him’.”
Harshul described getting cast as Vedang’s best friend in his first film as something that felt destined. He also recalled their first meeting over Zoom, where they discovered their shared connection to Kashmir. “But getting the role of his best friend’s character in my first film, and then working with him, was perhaps something God wanted to happen. It was more than a coincidence. Then when we first met on a Zoom meeting, I told him this. He also laughed and smiled. He said, ‘Yes, we Kashmiris tend to gel quickly. And that was sweet. You said that.’ Then we spoke a little in Kashmiri. Both of us don’t speak much Kashmiri. We understand it completely, but we speak only a little. Then we had a little conversation in Kashmiri.”
“We had script-reading sessions, and we had a good conversation there. We developed a good friendship on set. We respect each other a lot as actors. And because Vedang made me feel so comfortable and treated me so well as a friend, the chemistry between Aftab and Keenu that you see on screen- all the credit goes to Vedang as well. Because he respected me so much and helped me as an actor. Watching his hard work inspired me. And if he had not given me that level of respect, perhaps that chemistry would not have shown on screen as much. But because he is a good human being and a wonderful actor to work with, that is why people loved Aftab and Keenu so much,” he told us.
Main Vaapas Aaunga released on June 12, 2026. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
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