Ae Watan Mere Watan tries to get a grasp on the thoughts of kids, formed by the phrases of inspiring leaders, dedicated to the reason for impartial India.
It’s important as a result of their assist is not based mostly on ‘andh bhakti‘, however management that encourages questions, observes Sukanya Verma.
‘My most interesting second was after I was arrested broadcasting on the Congress radio,’ Usha Mehta informed Rediff.com‘s Archana Masih in an exclusive interview a number of years earlier than her loss of life in 2000.
Only 22 years previous when put behind bars for her position as a proud Gandhian, freedom fighter and founding father of Congress Radio, the Padma Vibhushan recipient earned her place in historical past early on in life.
At an age when persons are falling in love and figuring themselves out, Kannan Iyer’s zealous biopic marvels on the spirit of a technology, of which a courageous lot like Mehta believed, ‘Kuch ke liye inquilab hello pyaar hai, aur kuch ka pyar hello inquilab hai.’
Ae Watan Mere Watan tries to get a grasp on the thoughts of kids, formed by the phrases of inspiring leaders, dedicated to the reason for impartial India.
It’s important as a result of their assist is not based mostly on ‘andh bhakti‘, however management that encourages questions and critique like an opportune dialogue between Usha (Sara Ali Khan) and fellow college students Fahaad (Sparsh Shrivastav) and Kaushik (Abhay Verma) in a library hall accomplishes.
Much of their on-the-ground ardour and goal describes the zeal of a previous, when the entire nation labored collectively to push out overseas rulers, to a gift consumed by greed, exploitation and apathy.
From the beginning, tales of Mahatma Gandhi’s salt satyagraha impressed an impressionable Usha to comply with go well with, a lot to the displeasure of her lawyer father (Sachin Khedekar). Despite his objections, he’s the one to introduce Usha to the world of radio.
Comfortable within the soft life-style that comes from adhering to his British bosses or chanting ‘Churchill Chalisa‘ over Winston’s well-known ‘Fight them on the seashores’ speech, Usha’s father is not as obsequious as he’s pragmatic. Sachin Khedekar seamlessly encapsulates his character’s cussed sample and self-satisfaction in selecting comfort over ideas.
Conflict arises when his college-going daughter desires to train her privileges by becoming a member of India’s remaining battle for independence, which kickstarts in Bombay after Gandhi’s name for ‘Do or Die’ in 1942 led the best way for the Quit India Movement.
Often, Bombay’s cash and films picture overshadows its place in historical past. Ae Watan Mere Watan quietly acknowledges this (um, besides Kamala Nehru Park wasn’t constructed till 1952) whereas noting how the town has at all times given wings to impartial younger ladies in pursuit of their desires.
Modern-day resonance apart, the khaki-toned interval drama performs out like a product of its time, unsuspecting of the magnitude and momentum the revolt will take or the worth of Usha’s personal participation.
Experiencing the dilemmas of a lady at odds together with her father’s sell-out ideology when compelled to decide on between mother or father and patriotism or her disappointment when her companion would not share her promise of celibacy, Usha’s issues are there after which.
Her unwavering idealism and intrinsic feminism might make Usha tough within the eyes of the boys in her life however azadi ki ladai precedes every thing else.
Against the backdrop of World War II, gagged media and foremost freedom fighters thrown in jail, Congress Radio is born.
Communicating over a covert radio operation from top-secret hideouts of South Bombay, Usha and firm relay emotionally-charged speeches by Gandhi (a lacklustre Uday Chandra) to Ram Manohar Lohia (Emraan Hashmi) calling for nationwide dissent.
It’s not a giant half, however the nearly unrecognisable Hashmi’s charisma gives plausible consolation to his 20-something followers within the film.
Untouched by the self-esteem of going through the digicam too many instances, the boys fawning at him and flanking Sara are heartfelt of their predicament.
Abhay Verma’s (of The Family Man Season 2 fame) lovelorn situation and the fireplace in spunky Sparsh Shrivastav’s (of Laapataa Ladies fame) stomach typically outshine Sara’s earnest manner.
Evoking mother Amrita Singh’s bindi and braids look in Sunny (the place she sings for the radio), the articulate actor is disposed to old fashioned theatrics. Reining in her melodramatic impulses for many half, she can not resist the chance to go further each single time she cries ‘Karo Ya Maro‘.
Given this revolt’s largely passive nature, stress arises in lugging cumbersome expertise from place to position when chased by an equally cumbersome expertise employed by the Britishers to hint the rebels.
Ae Watan Mere Watan‘s retro imagery is not restricted to antiquated equipment, erstwhile trams and classic vehicles; it additionally falls again on quaint plot trops just like the basic burkha disguise to flee the cops.
Bollywood biopics tend to shuffle chronologies, romanticise or overstate the reality.
Ae Watan Mere Watan is not above fictionalising Usha Mehta’s story or depicting the Brits like one-note grimacing geezers (Alexx O’Nell). Yet, earlier than it slumps right into a unnecessary overdrive of dramatic excesses and stagy hysterics, there is a honest want to seize the early Nineteen Forties.
For a film the place radio acts as a strong instrument, Ae Watan Mere Watan exemplifies the significance of getting a voice in Darab Farooqui’s eloquent expressions.
Director Kannan Iyer’s world constructing depends on the on a regular basis challenges confronted by its younger protestors upholding Gandhian values and rejecting capitalism but bending over backwards to lift funds for his or her mission — ‘Bina paison ke inquilab tak laana namumkin hai batao‘, one among them shakes his head in amusement.
Mostly although, it is Usha’s defiant ‘ukhaad phenkenge un sabko jinko lagta hai ke woh Bharat chala rahe hain‘ sentiment fuelling the resistance.
In 1942, it amounted to a radio revolution. In 2024, it is radio silence.
Ae Watan Mere Watan streams on Amazon Prime Video.
Ae Watan Mere Watan Review Rediff Rating:
