Most period-dramas, by showcasing the happenings of the past, try to speak to the current times. Ae Watan Mere Watan merely hints at themes of thought control and curbing freedom of speech. It is a history chapter in a textbook, reduced to bullet points. The plot is predictable, the screenplay is threadbare at max, the visuals have a sepia-filter to give it that dusty, historical look and the acting is out of a school skit. The film made me laugh when it was supposed to move me, yawn when it was supposed to thrill me and I almost got up from my chair when it should have engrossed me.Powerful performances can, at times, pull up a drowning narrative. In Ae Watan Mere Watan, it’s quite the opposite. After being the weakest link in last week’s Murder Mubarak, Sara Ali Khan is back to ham her way through scenes. She over-emotes, over-emphasises and is the most over-the-top in this OTT film. I don’t know if it’s just me but there is a hint of a smile on Sara’s face, as if she is enjoying an inside joke, whenever she is trying to be intense. In this tale of freedom struggle, she struggles the most. I expected Emraan Hashmi as Ram Manohar Lohia to come to the rescue but he too gets wound up in the ludicrous seriousness of this film. Before you know it, he is delivering inspiring speeches which have a strange affinity with fire terms, Azaadi ki aag, azaadi ki mashaal, azaadi ka jwalamukhi (The fire of freedom, the torch of freedom, the volcano of freedom).Ae Watan Mere Watan only skims the surface when it comes to the freedom fighter at its centre. It is satisfied in showing just one facet of her personality: a patriotic young woman, who defied her dad, sacrificed her future and left her lover, all for the country’s freedom. The real Usha Mehta, after India got Independence, gave an interview in her later years and spoke about how the country was faring. “India has survived as a democracy and even built a good industrial base,” she said. “Still, it is not the India of our dreams.”Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Emraan Hashmi, Sparsh Shrivastava, Abhay VermaDirected by: Kannan IyerRating: 2/5 stars(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)
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