EXCLUSIVE | Sara Ali Khan on 'Ae Watan Mere Watan': 'I think I'm going to get a lot of love for this film that I deserve'

Sara Ali Khan’s Ae Watan Mere Watan is all set to release on Amazon Prime Video IN on March 21. She plays a character inspired by freedom fighter Usha Mehta who retaliated against the British Rule during the 1942 Quit India Movement by opening an underground radio station. She used her voice as a tool that later became a threat to the British Raj.

Sara in _Ae Watan Mere Watan_ will be seen playing a strong character who stood for the freedom of India with a new approach. The trailer is proof that, its going to be a film that will give this actress a shade of her education to relish in her profession. That is the reason she is able to develop a personal connection with the character. She was very keen on playing this part in the film as the story of the film is based on the Indian history that Sara has always been a student of.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Khan opened up on seeing the era of 1942 being recreated right in front of her that left her in awe, dabbling with different roles and worlds like Netflix’s Murder Mubarak , Gaslight, and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, and how the voice of the people can make history and not just impact if used correctly.

More from Entertainment

'Jugnuma' Movie Review: Manoj Bajpayee-Deepak Dobriyal’s terrific performances stood out in this beautifully restrained way of storytelling 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' Movie Review: The final goodbye of Julian Fellowes’s beloved British soap

Edited excepts from the interview:

Back in 1985, Amrita Singh and Amitabh Bachchan came together for Mard, a film that was set against the backdrop of the British Raj. 39 years later, it’s your turn to retaliate against the British regime. How much do you feel cinema has evolved in these 39 years?

I think it’s changing quite often. I think that from whatever I understand about it, I think that the audiences are getting more and more accepting of different kinds of content. You just told me a minute ago before this interview started that you liked me in Gaslight. That’s a new kind of film for somebody like me to venture into. Zara Hatke is a different kind of film. Murder Mubarak is totally different to Ae Watan Mere Watan . So I have named you in the past one year, different kinds of films. So in the past 39 years, I don’t even know where to start from. But I honestly think cinema is a representation somewhere to some degree of what the audience is want. And I think that we’re finally reaching a stage where a story of a woman, a story of bravery, a story of sacrifice, a story of national pride that I think deserves to be told is not just a story of 1942. It’s a story that echoes relevance I think over the past 1942, including the 39 years that you’re talking about. So what I like about this film actually the most is the timeless nature. And what I think is the potent ability to inspire. That’s just innate in this film that I think will truly stand the test of time.

They say a pen is mightier than a sword, but in this case, we see a radio taking on the brutality of the British regime. Do you feel the voice of the people, if used correctly, it can actually make history and not just impact?

100%. And I think that the main important function of the radio was to bring those voices together. There were many voices, anti -British Raj, but how do you galvanize them? How do you get them together? How do you align that kind of communication? And the medium of that became the radio, which is an idea that Usha just had because her father, in the film, is a judge. And he is listening to radio, sometimes speeches of Churchill, sometimes about World War II. They were talking about the Japanese fleet. So, Usha was talking about that. So, for us today, we take this kind of communication for granted. I’m sitting here, maybe somebody there is watching a reel that I posted two minutes ago. And nobody is even understanding that it’s wild. But at that time it was. So I think that’s very interesting, the way she uses the novel idea of radio to be able to communicate and help align thought processes that were very prevalent but not aligned.

As an actor, when you saw the world of pre -independent era being recreated right in front of you, were you in awe?

Not just as an actor, I think as a history student more than an actor. I mean, it was impeccable, the world, the scale with which I think Amazon and Dharmatic have come together with this film. It’s beyond what I expected. I really, really did not think that it would. I mean, even when I was shooting the Gwalior Maidaan tank scene and it was really hot and I was like, oh my God, I’m physically exhausted, I’m depleted. But then when I see that shot of myself picking up the flag, saying, Karo ya Maro, I get goosebumps on my own about myself and I’m not one of those vain kind of people. I’m like the queen of self -deprecation. So if I am feeling that way, we’ve done something correct. The radio, the world, the characters, Gandhiji, everything is so real that I think it was very important actually. The emotions of this film, our emotions we can’t understand today, the novelty of communication, the improbability of the idea of a radio, the fact that freedom is something we take for granted, it’s very difficult to transport ourselves actually back to that time. So these little, little things definitely helped.

Watching the trailer, I saw a lot of curiosity in your eyes and I feel that it could be a blend of your character’s rage for independence and your curiosity as an actor. Have you blended these both?

I tried. There’s no way I can compare the struggles, the stakes Usha Mehta or any freedom fighter faced in 1942. We all are free citizens and there’s no way we can compare ourselves to the pre-independence times. But that spirit of Do or Die that you have is something I realized Sara has in her after playing this character inspired by Usha Mehta, which was lovely for me. You also sometimes don’t know what your strength is till you’re pushed to your limits, that’s another thing Sara and Usha share. It has been five years and now it’s important for me to bring a film like this to all of you, because you all have given me unconditional love even when I didn’t deserve it, but now I have to. And I think I’m going to.

What do you have to say about the world of social media we are living in? Do you feel it can be used as a tool to empower people but is also abused and misused?

That’s with anything. With great power comes great responsibility but with great power also comes tyranny. It’s up to you to use the technology for its advantage. Today, I may be recognized by people who may or may not have seen my films because they have seen me on social media. And that’s not a bad thing because that gives me reach, but it also leaves me open to criticism by thousands of negative people. I need to filter and channelize it.