'Ae Watan Mere Watan' movie review: Patiently paced positive patriotism

Film Ae Watan Mere WatanOn Amazon Prime VideoDirector Kannan IyerActors Sara Ali Khan Emraan HashmiRating 35ldquoIF not the British then whordquo asks the big barrister later judge Sachin Khedekar in this movie that is set during Indiarsquos freedom struggleWhat kinda person would pose such a ridiculous sounding dilemma while reeling under a cancer called a colonial rule anywayObviously the sort who has something to gain from the Raj in the first place And those are rank opportunists For whatever itrsquos worth at least you get where theyrsquore coming fromBut as likely if not more itrsquos gonna be somebody brainwashed into a slave mindset towards their own oppressor as wellmdashin this case a ldquoChurchill ke chahetardquo reciting Churchill lsquochalisarsquo worshipping at the altar of the church called ChurchillThis Stockholm Syndrome can occur anywhere anytime Whether for an unabashed imperialistmdashor a gaslighting government within a supposed democracy There are so many such across the world as we speakThis ldquoandh bhaktirdquo blind faith is also at the centre of this film in a way And thatrsquos what gives it all the more a certain measure of relevance We watch the British government holding on to political power primarily through curtailing information to the massesNamely an independent media that could otherwise influence people to remain anything but hypnotised bhakts forever Newspaper editors have been mutedProtests are equally supressed Political leaders have been jailedmdashwhy else are they if not to ensure there isnrsquot enough onground mobilisation of their possible followers Quit India Movement is on an upswing stillHow do freedom fighters or the opposition in this context access the masses at all with their voices of dissent Through an illegalpirate radio station what elseWhorsquos helming this secret project Among others the young daughter of the very barrister mentioned above ie Usha Mehta Gandhian enough to be even sworn to celibacyThis is her true storymdashof the struggle within both the family and her nation taking on powers several times her weight category and staying on in the ring for every breath she takesShersquos relatively a lesserknown character from Indiarsquos independence movement Surely there are even more undercelebrated womenThe only other person who comes to my mind equally charminginteresting yet hardly chronicled is actor Kabir Bedirsquos British mother Freda Similarly a Gandhian who fought against her own government for her adopted homeYup Mehta belonged to the elite As did Mahatma Gandhi himself Indeed many top leaders of Indiarsquos freedom struggle or across biggest movements in history did Which is just as well Unless we confuse elites with elitismAe Watan Mere Watan is directed by Kannan Iyer The first time I heard his name was in regard to the crew of Ram Gopal Varmarsquos Satya 1998 Apparently he also wrote Varmarsquos Daud 1999 and is probably best remembered for the supernatural thriller Ek Thi Dayan 2013 Evidently Iyer is a genre filmmakerIn that sense this film too follows the timetested sepiatone and exquisite production design of a proper periodpiece Could it have been any differentWell if you suffer from a terrible habit of imagining an ongoing movie in other waysmdashthis could well be a strikingly pacy thriller alone as pirate radio stations keep relocating while cops are on a relentless chaseI donrsquot know something like the Cold War spy flick The Courier 2020 maybe Thatrsquos the most recent example I can think ofIyer picks a more placid vibe insteadmdashobviously more suited to him and cowriter Darab Farooqui crediting the play Kharr Kharr by Amatya Goradia and Pritesh Sodha as source materialThe stress is more on the sanctityimportance of the subject before a hopefully patient audience Rather than relying too much on filmmaking flourishes or indulgences of any kindSpeaking of history the film opens with the iconic MGM lionrsquos roar as the studio logo for an Amazon Prime Original Itrsquos produced by Dharma The last piece of content I delightfully hatewatched of theirs on an OTT Disney Hotstar was Showtime with Hashmi showing up as a moronic moviestudio bossHashmi enters at the 50th minute of this movie totally redeeming himself as the socialist Congressman Ram Manohar Lohia that the picturersquos young radio pirates are rightly besotted byIncluding the female lead Sara Ali Khan as Usha Mehta bang in the centre bright and upright This is easily Khanrsquos most accomplished work Which obviously isnrsquot stating much Given the number of fumbles over her sevenfilm career thus farLook out equally for Sparsh Shrivastava the other radiopirate Thatrsquos the lovely lad from Kiran Raorsquos Laapataa Ladies 2024What else to look out for since you never asked Honestly being a Bombay person Bombay itselfThatrsquos the filmrsquos finest charactermdashwith the slogan ldquodo or dierdquo first delivered from Gowalia Tank illegal radio stations operating from a flat at Alankar Building in Babulnath Sunshine Building on Ballard Road moving to Sitara Building on Gibbs Road another transmitter in SantacruzhellipSurely these remains can still be suitably retraced While set in 1942 the drama feels personally close in a literal sense henceMore often than not Irsquove been watching desi webseries lately and wondering if it couldrsquove been rescued as a feature film Itrsquos the reverse hereAs in wouldnrsquot Ae Watanhellip have been more sorted as a miniseries instead This is a feature that frankly feels like longform prestige television Itrsquos on an OTT So be it then

'Ae Watan Mere Watan' movie review: Patiently paced positive patriotism

Film: Ae Watan Mere Watan
On: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Kannan Iyer
Actors: Sara Ali Khan, Emraan Hashmi
Rating: 3/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / 'Ae Watan Mere Watan' movie review: Patiently paced positive patriotism

'Ae Watan Mere Watan' movie review: Patiently paced positive patriotism

Film: Ae Watan Mere Watan On: Amazon Prime Video Director: Kannan Iyer Actors: Sara Ali Khan, Emraan Hashmi Rating: 3/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Film: Ae Watan Mere Watan
On: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Kannan Iyer
Actors: Sara Ali Khan, Emraan Hashmi
Rating: 3/5