‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ review: Sara Ali Khan-led film is a one time watch; Emraan Hashmi packs a solid punch as Ram Manohar Lohia

DIRECTOR: KANNAN IYER

CAST: SARA ALI KHAN, SACHIN KHEDEKAR, EMRAAN HASHMI, ANAND TIWARI, SPARSH SHRIVASTAVA, MADHU RAJ, ABHAY VERMA

RATING: 2.5/5

A 20-something-old girl in Bombay, who wants freedom from the British Raj, revolts against her father who is a Winston Churchill admirer to become the voice of the Indian freedom movement during the 1940s. For this, she sets up the underground Congress Radio after the British ban the Congress in the backdrop of the Quit India movement.

The trials and tribulations she faces during this endeavour to attain freedom form the crux of the film. Well, the 20-something girl from Bombay is no one else but Usha Mehta, the founder of the Congress Radio. The premise seems just perfect for a cinephile who’s also piqued by interesting nuggets of history every now and then.

While the premise seems interesting, the film falters big time. The biggest fault line in the film is its lead actor Sara Ali Khan, whose performance as the freedom fighter oscillates from lows in the start to extreme highs but again falls flat in the end and that too with a thud.

In the first half, Sara Ali Khan seems almost uninspiring as she takes the entire running minutes to get into the skin of the formidable and indomitable Usha Mehta. Her acting seems almost mechanical especially in scenes involving confrontation with her father Justice Hariprasad (Sachin Khedekar).

Sloganeering by Sara Ali Khan seemed like meaningless din instead of being impactful, especially slogans like Bharat chhodo and Karo ya Maro that are meant to be war cries of the Indian populace against the British. Sara Ali Khan, however, manages to redeem herself in the second half but that too not without stumbling here and there. 

Her act as Usha Mehta the radio jockey is convincing as one could almost hear her commitment to become the messenger of India’s freedom. But, the shine only lasts while she is on the radio as she has a perpetually scared expression on her face when in fact she needs to portray bravery in the face of imminent arrest. The end almost feels flat due to the leading lady’s limited acting chops and even Vande Mataram playing in the background fails to create an impact … in a patriotic film.

Despite lacking physical resemblance to the socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, Emraan Hashmi manages to create an impact through his guest appearance as the leader who helped Congress Radio. Hashmi’s role lends a lease of life to the film just in time to keep one engaged for the second half.

The actor makes an earnest attempt to nail Ram Manohar Lohia’s inimitable oratory style, especially in scenes where he addresses Indians through Congress Radio. Moreover, Marathi theatre veteran Sachin Khedekar blends into the character of Justice Hariprasad seamlessly.

During the running minutes of the film, his character transforms from the ultimate Winston Churchill admirer to realising the importance of freedom in one’s own land. The transformation seems convincing as Khedekar is effortless both in moments of anger and pride for his freedom fighter daughter. The final act of him expressing pride in his daughter is most powerful act in the film, reinforcing his mettle as an actor.
 
Besides this, Sparsh Shrivastava and Abhay Verma lend decent support as Fahad and Kaushik and are convincing in their parts. Besides Sara Ali Khan’s wavery performance as Usha Mehta, the film also falters in its storytelling big time.

Instead of focusing only on Congress Radio, time should also have been devoted to explore the events that made Usha Mehta into a fiery freedom fighter and an even more compelling freedom fighter. Since not enough time has been devoted to the events that shaped Usha Mehta, the film should only be seen as the story of the Congress Radio and its founder.

Also, the writing by Darab Farooqui feels a bit stretched in some scenes especially the scene where Usha Mehta runs away from the police after securing a radio equipment from a smuggler in the market and the ones showing the impact of the Congress Radio. Songs such as Qatra Qatra and Ae Watan Ae Watan do what Sara Ali Khan is unable to do, create a lasting impression.

In a nutshell, the film is a one-time watch and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video from March 21.