Ae Watan Mere Watan Movie Review: Sara Ali Khan could have done a better job as freedom fighter Usha Mehta | Amazon Prime Video

Director: Kannan Iyer

Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Sachin Khedekar, Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Verma, Sparsh Shrivastav, Anand Tiwari, Aditi Sanwal, Alexx O’Neil, Benedict Garrett

The story of Ae Watan Mere Watan was brilliantly slow. The subject was good, but wasn’t well implemented. There are hardly any movies which actually talk about lesser known heroes. But Sara Ali Khan couldn’t do justice on playing the role of freedom fighter Usha Mehta. Though the film was able to weave the freedom movement with enough human stories showing Usha’s contribution to the Quit India movement, but  Ae Watan Mere Watan was unable to give us those goosebumps which a freedom movie generally does.

So, what went wrong? Well, Sara Ali Khan was unable to carry the responsibility of the role of Usha Mehta on her not so strong shoulders. She clearly didn’t fit it. The movie releasing on OTT platform, it would have been better had the makers been a little creative on choosing the right craftsman to play her role and not been star-struck. In no way she was able to convey this fearless woman Usha’s strong determination and dedication to free India. And most importantly we all know about the Quit India Movement, but the backdrop lacked any freshness.

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I would say a brilliant story on Usha Mehta was completely massacred by Sara Ali Khan. Though it looks like she is trying to put  in a lot of effort, but the output is just not happening. Sara definitely is not an effortless actress and couldn’t bring out the emotions of a dedicated freedom fighter. The movie is slow and Sara Ali Khan’s performance lacks depth. Sara shouting ‘karo ya maro’ (do or die) every now and then lacked emotion. She indeed was  a total misfit for this role.

The film shows how inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘do or die’ slogan, 22-year-old Usha Mehta joins the Congress and starts a secret radio station to arouse the awareness of freedom among the Indian masses. Though Sachin Khedekar, Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Verma, Sparsh Shrivastav’s performances were way better than Sara’s, but what can you do when the entire focus is on Sara Ali Khan, who failed badly.

One thing that is good about the film is that Bollywood never gave emphasis on the contribution of lesser known freedom fighters and especially Ram Manohar Lohia. But for a change  Ae Watan Mere Watan has  increased the awareness about these krantikaris. 

To present real life characters on screen is not an easy task and a huge responsibility too. I wish the director and the main lead of the film would have been a little more serious about their job and at least out of sheer respect for the brave Usha Mehta. There was something that was really off about Sara’s performance. Her hand movements and most importantly her dialogue delivery, were all messed up.

Emraan Hashmi’s real-life character as Ram Manohar Lohia was decent. But you can’t blame him because he hardly had any screen time. The only person who makes the freedom struggle look real is Laapataa Ladies actor Sparsh Srivastava as Fahad, the polio-afflicted freedom fighter.

Rating: 2 out of 5