Mumbai: Main Vaapas Aaunga, the Imtiaz Ali-directed period romantic drama, recorded 16.14 million unique viewers on Netflix during its opening streaming window from August 7 to August 11, 2026, according to viewership data released by Chrome DM COTT, India’s OTT audience measurement platform.
Starring Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina and Sharvari, the film is set against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition. It began streaming on Netflix on August 7 after a 50-day theatrical run that grossed close to ₹99 crore worldwide.
Female audiences accounted for 9.72 million, or 60%, of the film’s total unique viewership, while male audiences contributed 6.42 million, or 40%.
The F 25–35 cohort emerged as the largest individual audience segment with 4.11 million viewers, followed by F 18–24 at 3.44 million and M 25–35 at 2.98 million. Overall, the 25–35 age group across both genders accounted for 7.09 million viewers, representing 44% of the film’s total reach.
The F 35+ and M 35+ cohorts recorded 0.90 million and 0.66 million viewers, respectively. Among viewers below 18, female audiences accounted for 1.27 million and male audiences for 0.80 million, while the F 18–24 and M 18–24 cohorts contributed 3.44 million and 1.98 million, respectively.
Punjab Leads State-Wise Viewership
Punjab emerged as the highest-viewed individually tracked market with 3.85 million viewers, accounting for close to a quarter of the film’s total reach. Delhi NCR followed with 2.92 million viewers.
Together, Punjab and Delhi NCR contributed 6.77 million viewers, or 42% of the film’s total viewership. Maharashtra recorded 2.18 million viewers, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 1.57 million and Karnataka at 0.72 million. The Others category accounted for 4.90 million viewers.
Mobile Accounts for Largest Device Share
Mobile devices accounted for 7.78 million viewers, while connected TV (CTV) contributed 3.72 million. The data also recorded an overlap of 4.64 million viewers across the two device types, representing close to 29% of the film’s total reach.
The viewing pattern indicates that a significant section of the audience accessed the film across more than one screen during the opening streaming period.
“Main Vaapas Aaunga is a useful case study in how a theatrical sleeper carries over to streaming. The film needed 50 days and word of mouth to reach close to ₹99 crore in cinemas, and it has drawn 16.14 Mn viewers on Netflix in five days. Two things in the data stand out. Punjab at 3.85 Mn is close to a quarter of total reach, which is what you see when a story is rooted that specifically in a region. And the audience skews female at 60%, led by the F 25–35 cohort, which tells us the period romance found the demographic it was written for,” said Pankaj Krishna, Founder & CEO, Chrome DM.
