New Delhi, June 11 -- near unanimity from India's film critics. The first reviews of his Partition romance landed within minutes of each other on Thursday morning, and most of them read like apologies for ever doubting him.

The verdict matters beyond one director's redemption. The film, produced by Applause Entertainment and running 166 minutes, walks into a theatrical market that has spent two years rewarding action spectacles and franchise universes. Whether a slow, grief-soaked love story can hold screens past its opening weekend is now the sharpest test of what Hindi cinema audiences will still pay for.

Hindustan Times said the film turns memory and longing into cinema that cannot be missed. News18 called it a soul-stirring love sto...