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.