- Date of Release: 21 March 2024
- Genre: Biography, Drama, Historical
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Amazon Prime Video
Ae Watan Mere Watan
Introduction
Inclusivity and Unity are such powerful tools that if used correctly, can make the entire establishment bow to it. It is still a Thursday but the new releases of the weekend have started trickling in. With that, I have finished watching the new Hindi film Ae Watan Mere Watan which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. While our History books have predominantly covered our Freedom Struggle through the lens of popular freedom fighters, there were so many other unsung heroes who did contribute to the eventual Independence of a nation against the British rule. And I am most happy that there are scripts being developed to represent those characters on celluloid, most of whom may not quite have chapters dedicated to them in our History textbooks but mere passing references. Hence, I was quite looking forward to watching Ae Watan Mere Watan although there was some clout of doubt surrounding it on how would Sara Ali Khan pull off the role of Usha Mehta, a hero responsible for the underground Congress Radio that played an important part in the Quit India Movement of 1942. So then does Ae Watan Mere Watan manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Ae Watan Mere Watan follows the story of Usha Mehta, the founder of the Congress Radio who played an instrumental part in the Quit India Movement of 1942. The story here is earnest and sincere, and something that needed a representation on celluloid given the unfamiliarity of the incident amongst the masses. The screenplay standing at 130 odd minutes is decently penned while setting up the context of the central event of launching an underground radio station to create a sort of an uprising amongst the masses across the country, while having to protect it from the tyranny of the British Empire. So there is a three act structure that actually works quite well although the understated nature of the drama does make it a niche in some ways.
The drama opens on a much later timeline that is used as a foreshadow before giving a little context about the protagonist and her first hand experience with the British Tyranny as a little girl. This prompts her to join the Congress while wishing to actively take part in India’s freedom movement. The year is 1942 which means that the story is set against the backdrop of the Quit India Movement that did result in several Indian politicians including Mahatma Gandhi being arrested, thereby putting the entire movement in disarray. Now, I did feel that the drama felt quite fragmented in the first hour, almost wishing to jump from one event to another without proper transitions between shots. What this did was partially reduce the impact of the world building which was surely present on paper but partially diluted in translation to celluloid. The character of the protagonist though is decently well established and it is essentially the camaraderie of the youth that keeps the ball rolling particularly in the first act.
The proceedings are fairly engaging but understated in their approach which for me was a welcome relief from the chest thumping patriotism which would never have been true to the tone of the drama. But on the flip side, the impact of the drama is lowered by a few notches due to this syndrome wherein there weren’t too many sequences that would give you a high. To be fair, there are stray incidents particularly after the Congress Radio which is setup that does ignite your interests, but the mounting of those sequences were a little simplistic. What works, and works very well is the subtle emotional core of the film. A scene involving an elderly character giving up her jewelry while stating that this is my contribution to the freedom of the country will give you goosebumps while subtly tugging the strings of your heart. The struggle of eventually setting up the radio(which was a game changer at then) is wonderfully well established too. So, there is a lot to like in the screenplay. On a side note, I liked how inclusivity played a vital role in the screenplay as well(notice the names of the folks in the group).
The urgency in the second half is definitely more prevalent than the first hour. There are multiple sequences involving a bit of a cat and mouse game between the British and their quest to locate the Congress Radio that leads to several tense moments. But a small flaw here is that the writing does get a little repetitive in the process with the same set of events unfolding. This is again not to say that the drama is bad, it is supremely watchable and does also manage to keep you on tenterhooks. The issue was of coating the entire second hour with the same paint leading to a bit of an underwhelming final act wherein the stakes in the drama weren’t raised enough. Yet, if I were to look at the screenplay on the whole, it definitely does have its moments to shine thereby making it a decent watch.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are understated and they manage to subtly strike a chord with the viewers while balancing the undercurrents of intensity in the drama with sincerity and warmth. The music works well in the context of the drama while the BGM captures the sentiments of the drama really well. The cinematography coupled with the brilliant production design captures frames that seem to be an accurate representation of the bygone era where the drama is set in. This for me had to be the strongest aspect of the drama, of capturing the vibe of Bombay(of 1942) in a wonderful manner that immediately transported you to the yesteryear’s era. In fact, even a little filter to the frames was a welcome addition in depicting the era of the 1940s. The editing was a little inconsistent particularly in the first hour where the drama felt like a collection of scenes. The transition between shots was missing although things were much better in the second hour when the chain of events seemed to be connected. Director Kannan Iyer who had previously directed the wonderful horror film Ek Thi Daayan years ago, does a good job here witg the drama. He is effectively able to create tense moments while balancing them out with moments of warmth, some of which hit home. The direction style was understated but it definitely did work for me in keeping the chest thumping jingoism at bay.
Performances
The performances are fairly good by the ensemble cast. Manya Singh as Sarojani, Ankita Mithal, Ira Dua as Sandhya and Abhishek Patel as Dhar have their moments to shine. Godaan Kumar as Balbir, Aditi Sanwal as Antara, Pratik Yadav as Bhaskar, Sangram Salvi as Kamat and Uday Chandra as MK Gandhi are first rate in their respective roles. Sachin Khedekar as Judge Saab is wonderfully understated amd his finale speech just hits home. Madhu Raja as Bua delivers such a heartwarming moment in the drama(featuring her contributing to the freedom struggle by giving up her jewelry) that will go down as my favourite moment in the film. Anand Tiwari as Engineer and Chrisann Pereira as Julie are a joy to watch as well, and their dance was to die for!
Emraan Hashmi as Ram Manohar Lohia is sincere and earnest with a stellar screen presence. Alex O’Nell as John is intimidating and does a swell job here. Abhay Verma as Kaushik delivers a subtly heartfelt performance that hits all the right notes. Sparsh Srivastav riding on the high of his previous release Laapataa Ladies is excellent as Fahad. There were so many subtle nuances that he integrates in his performance thereby adding layers of emotions to his character. I feel he was the pick of the actors for me by some margin. Sara Ali Khan as Usha delivers a marked improvement from her previous release Murder Mubarak. She tries and also partly succeeds with the understated approach of her character. But there are two area of improvement – one is in her dialogue delivery and second to judge on how much is enough in an emotional sequence. I still felt that she went a little overboard with the latter wherein she wasn’t entirely sure on how much to emote. But still is definitely a step in the right direction for Sara in a decent little performance.
Conclusion
Ae Watan Mere Watan is a decent patriotic drama based on the life of an unsung hero and boasting of good performances that makes for a nice little watch. Available on Amazon Prime.