Ae Watan Mere Watan

About the film

Ae Watan Mere Watan (transl. Oh Country My Country) is a 2024 Hindi-language historical biographical film about India's struggle for freedom in 1942, based on the life of Usha Mehta, a brave young girl who starts an underground radio station to spread the message of unity, setting off a thrilling chase with the British authorities during the Quit India movement. It is written and directed by Kannan Iyer and produced by Karan Johar, starring Sara Ali Khan, Alexx O'Nell and Emraan Hashmi. The film premiered on 21 March 2024 on Amazon Prime Video to mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1930, a young Usha Mehta witnesses her Gandhian schoolteacher being brutally beaten by British police during a protest. The fearless child tries to intervene, getting injured herself. Her father, Hariprasad, a loyal British-serving judge, locks her in a room to suppress her rebellious spirit but also introduces her to the radio as a window to the world.

By 1942, during World War II, 22-year-old Usha (Sara Ali Khan) in Bombay is secretly deeply involved in India's freedom struggle, unbeknownst to her father. Leading a small group of young revolutionaries—including her love interest Kaushik (Abhay Verma), close friend Fahad (Sparsh Srivastav), and others—she joins the Congress party's Quit India Movement launched by Gandhi.

Inspired after meeting Gandhi, Usha takes a vow of celibacy (brahmacharya), upsetting Kaushik but not deterring him from the fight. When the British ban Congress, arrest its leaders, and suppress all communication, Usha conceives a bold plan: an underground clandestine radio station, "Congress Radio," broadcasting on frequency 42.34 every night at 8:30 p.m.

Production

Principal photography commenced in October 2022 and first schedule ended in December. The second schedule began by April 2023 and the film wrapped up in May 2023.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by Mukund Suryawanshi, Akashdeep Sengupta and Shashi Suman while lyrics were written by Suryawanshi, Ravi Girri, Rohan Deshmukh, Darab Farooqui and Prashant Ingole.

Reception

Ae Watan Mere Watan wasn't well received by critics.

A critic from Bollywood Hungama gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ae Watan Mere Watan is worth watching as it presents an untold chapter of Indian history." Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave 3/5 stars and observed "Ae Watan Mere Watan tries to get a grasp on the mind of youngsters, shaped by the words of inspiring leaders, committed to the cause of independent India. It's significant because their support isn't based on 'andh bhakti' (blind devotion), but leadership that encourages questions".

NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee rated the film 2.5 out of 5, opining in his review that, "Ae Watan Mere Watan makes its points with clarity and directness. It tells a tale that has meat, but the storytelling style that the film adopts stops it significantly short of being either consistently riveting or memorably rousing". He criticized the lead performance, opining that, "Sara Ali Khan, playing the principal character, is way too porcelain and dainty to convey the remarkably doughty woman's fierce determination." Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today gave 2/5 stars and wrote that "Ae Watan Mere Watan drowns in a lacklustre script despite having the potential to be an effective story."

Key details