Showing posts with label Ae Watan Mere Watan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ae Watan Mere Watan. Show all posts
(Crisp) Movie Review: AE WATAN MERE WATAN by FENIL SETA
10:31 AM
Ae Watan Mere Watan, which has released today on Amazon Prime Video, presents an untold chapter of India’s freedom struggle. We have seen films on great freedom fighters and on partition but not many know about the underground radio movement. Hence, it’s fascinating to see how Usha Mehta and her associates managed to put together a radio station and how the British tried to suppress its impact. Though it’s set in 1942, some of the dialogues and moments regarding news censorship, authorities trying to curb the truth etc might remind one of the present-day happenings. However, in some places, the execution is not up to the mark. The love story is the weakest part of the film. The VFX is tacky and the production design is unsatisfactory. Sara Ali Khan does well in parts and in some scenes, her performance is not entirely convincing. Emraan Hashmi steals the show as Dr Ram Manohar Lohia. It’s difficult to imagine him as a freedom fighter but he pulls it off, and how! Sparsh Shrivastava (Fahad), recently seen in Laapataa Ladies, is too good. Abhay Verma (Kaushik) does well but is let down by the writing. Sachin Khedekar leaves a mark. Madhu Raja (Bua) is adorable while Alexx O'Nell is wonderful as the antagonist. All in all, Ae Watan Mere Watan is worth watching for the plot and Emraan Hashmi's performance.
My rating - *** out of 5!
My rating - *** out of 5!
Ae Watan Mere Watan will cast Sara Ali Khan in a new light-Alexx O'Nell
3:38 PM
Alexx O’Nell, who plays the antagonist in Sara-led Ae Watan Mere Watan, on how director Iyer fictionalised his character of a ruthless British officer
Priyanka Sharma (MID-DAY; March 17, 2024)
Alexx O'Nell was terrified as he read about his character, British officer John Ayre, in Ae Watan Mere Watan. But the character’s impactful nature was also a sign for him to say yes to the part.
“When casting director Gautam [Kishanchandani] sent me some scenes, I was terrified and also in love with this character. He is immaculately dressed and clinical. With that clinical precision and quiet strength, he is doing some horrible things,” says the actor, who plays the antagonist in the Sara Ali Khan-led historical drama.
The upcoming Prime Video offering chronicles how freedom fighter Usha Mehta established the underground radio station, Congress Radio, during the 1942 Quit India movement. While Khan essayed the real-life freedom fighter, director Kannan Iyer made O’Nell’s character fictional, a personification of the collective dark consciousness of the British Raj.
“This guy was created to personify the dark intellect, result-oriented nature of the British Empire. There were few people, who were running the administration for the British, but it was the largest strength in those individuals. Also, since it was a fictional character, I had the freedom to interpret him the way I wanted to.”
The actor, who was recently seen in Aarya (2020), Khufiya (2023) and Dhanush-starrer Captain Miller, says his experience on Ae Watan Mere Watan was enhanced courtesy his co-star Khan.
“I know Sara Ali Khan has an image of being more of a star than an actor. But this film will cast her in a new light. We didn’t joke a lot on this one because it was an intense shoot. Maybe someday, we’ll collaborate on a comedy,” he laughs.
It was heartbreaking when we decided to not do Freedom Radio-Ketan Mehta
9:46 AM
Director Ketan rues having to put brakes on biopic of freedom fighter-aunt Usha Mehta, after Ae Watan Mere Watan makers announced Sara-led film on same subject
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; March 1, 2024)
A heartfelt tribute to his aunt Usha Mehta, who had played a crucial role in India’s freedom movement—that’s how Ketan Mehta had envisioned Freedom Radio. In May 2022, the director and producer Anubhav Sinha announced the ambitious biopic. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. After the Sara Ali Khan-led Ae Watan Mere Watan was announced last year, Ketan was persuaded by Sinha to drop their project as both movies had the same subject.
Now, as the Karan Johar production is slated to première on Prime Video on March 21, Ketan remembers how his film was to be an intimate portrait of his aunt, who established the underground radio station, Congress Radio, during the Quit India movement.
“Developing this story was pure joy. Sifting through her personal diaries and delving into my own memories have been a crucial part of the work. We were planning to make Freedom Radio, but another film was already being made on the same subject. That had progressed substantially, and we were still in the pre-production stage. It wouldn’t have been wise to repeat it,” he says.
The decision to drop the story, which he held so dear, was not easy. “It was heartbreaking when we decided to not do Freedom Radio. But that’s part of filmmaking; you have to take it in your stride.”
The team of Ae Watan Mere Watan released the teaser in January 2023, while Johar and Khan launched a motion poster at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa last November. In director Kannan Iyer’s film, Khan steps into the shoes of the late Mehta, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1998. Did the film’s team reach out to Ketan or his family during their research?
“Not at all. We were planning to tell her story, with flashes from her childhood till India’s independence in 1947. I lived with my aunt for 15 years before she passed away. So, we shared a deep connection.”
One wonders about the road ahead for Freedom Radio. Has he shelved the biopic completely? “I’m not making it for the time being. We had an independent perspective, and since [we had] personal knowledge of the family, it would have been a richer film. But Anubhav felt that having two similar stories come out was not the best idea. We kept it on the backburner; we’ll see how it works out.”
It comes naturally that women in my films have agency-Karan Johar
5:40 AM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; November 23, 2023)
In recent decades, films with female leads have performed well at the box office. Yet, there has been an assumption that producers do not support female-led films, and that they are generally less successful. During a recent session at IFFI, Karan Johar spoke about how gender is not a criterion for judging a story.
‘I’LL CONTINUE TO TELL STORIES OF WOMEN’
“Telling the story of a female comes naturally to me. I’m not even thinking that it is something great I’m doing; it is something that comes naturally, whether it was Raazi, Gunjan Saxena, Ae Watan Mere Watan, or the short films I have directed like Bombay Talkies. It comes naturally that women in my films have agency. These are natural, organic decisions that come from the roots of my upbringing, and I will continue to tell those stories.”
‘ONLY FOLLOW THE CONVICTION OF STORYTELLING’
Talking about box office performances of female-led films, Karan pointed out how cinemas were written off, yet both cinemas and OTT have maintained their strong positions. Giving the example of 12th Fail, he added, “It was being said that small films would not be able to attract a theater audience, but look at the performance of 12th Fail. So, one can’t follow any trend, and the only trend that one should follow is the conviction of storytelling.”
‘FILMS MADE IN ALL LANGUAGES ARE OUTSTANDING’
Responding to a query on why he doesn’t make films in other Indian languages, Karan said that the language he is comfortable telling a story in is Hindi, as it’s the language he was raised in. However, he added that he is a fan of all Indian language films.
“I was one of the first people to introduce Baahubali to the Hindis-peaking audience of this country. I believe that films made in (all) languages, whether it’s Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu or Tamil are outstanding. Thanks to streaming platforms, we can now see these movies and fall in love with the power of these stories. I’m blown away by the impact of Mani Ratnam’s PS-I and PS-II films, by KGF which has opened doors for Kannada cinema, and equally by mainstream films like Pushpa or RRR. So much is happening in Hindi cinema, but at the same time, so much is happening in Indian cinema, and we should be proud members of Indian cinema.”
My friends say, ‘You have such a crazy, wild personality’; it is dangerous when such tags get attached to you-Sara Ali Khan
8:22 AM
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; October 5, 2023)
Sara Ali Khan has always spoken about how she doesn’t like to stick to her comfort zone as an actress and wants to explore every genre that there is. And the fact that actors often get stereotyped for doing certain roles is what deters her from stepping into similar roles, even if that would be an easy route to take.
The Zara Hatke Zara Bachke actress explains, “As an actor, my main desire has always been versatility. With my upcoming films like Murder Mubarak and then a period film where I play a freedom fighter (Ae Watan Mere Watan) mera woh sapna bhi saakaar ho hi raha hai. I feel lucky and privileged. Especially because of the kind of high energy, loud and bindaas girl that I am, you might not imagine me as a Meesha in Gaslight (her OTT release) or Usha Mehta in Ae Watan Mere Watan. My friends always say, ‘Sara, you have such a crazy, wild personality,’ and it is dangerous when such tags get attached to you. It’s harmful for an actor, because aisa nahi hona chahiye ki log mujhe ek hi roop mein dekhe aur usse zyada na dekh paaye.”
‘My daadi’s film choices have also been eclectic’
Ask Sara which of her roles her family has liked, and she says, “My daadi (Sharmila Tagore) really liked me in Gaslight. She thought it was quite a different film. I think her film choices have also been eclectic. She appreciates the challenge every now and then. Everybody in my family also like Atrangi Re.”
‘One must respect the director’s domain’
While her mom and dad are a huge support system, Sara says she makes independent career choices. In fact, her mother, Amrita Singh, hardly ever accompanies her on set.
Sara shares, “Initially, I would ask my mom to come on my set, but then I realised it, without any offence intended, directors are quite possessive of their characters… not their actors but their characters. And since I realised that I have been very apprehensive about visiting an actor friend on their set. When you care about someone, for instance, if my mom or dad come on my set, then they might feel like telling me ki yeh take aise kar sakte thhe, ya vaise kar sakte thhe, and the director might not like it, and one must respect the director’s domain.”
365 days too little to celebrate what we have as a country-Sara Ali Khan
8:23 AM
As she poses for HT City exclusively on Independence Day, Sara Ali Khan gets talking to Rishabh Suri about her definition of freedom
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 15, 2023)
Keeping the Indian tricolour close to her heart in the form of a dupatta, actor Sara Ali Khan, 28, represents the youth of India — aware, educated, confident — as we chat with her after an exclusive Independence Day photoshoot. “India is a democracy and the first step is recognizing that you should always have the freedom of choice. That, for me, is at the heart of independence. As a youth of this country, I want the freedom to choose what I want. I feel everyone’s opinion should be respected,” she says.
Ask if we, as a society, are there yet, or somewhere close even, and she responds, “I don’t think it (freedom of choice and opinion) is a destination; it is a journey. You can always grow and have more equality, more diversity and more respect.”
WHAT DO WE NEED INDEPENDENCE FROM?
“Judgement,” says Khan, adding, “I am a female actor and I believe we have come a long way, but still have a long way to go. From judging women to actors, there’s always so much judgement in our country. I would like independence from these stereotypes.”
NOT JUST ANOTHER HOLIDAY
Khan will be seen essaying the role of a freedom fighter in the upcoming film Ae Watan Mere Watan. “I just finished shooting for the film. There are so many facets of our Indian history, especially the freedom struggle, which we don’t understand. It is not just the freedom fighters we may not know about, it was a generation of sacrifice, bravery and constant endeavour. It is not just one day. I feel 365 days are too less to celebrate and be thankful and grateful for what we have as a country today,” she ends.
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