Sara Ali Khan starrer Ae Watan Mere Watan came out this week and it has got a lot of people talking about it. Sara plays Usha Mehta, a freedom fighter who ran an underground radio station. The film is centrally focused on the character of Usha but also has a lot of other characters. One of the characters who is very important in the film and in the life of the character of Usha is Firdaus Engineer.
Portrayed by brilliant actor Anand Tiwari, Firdaus is a flamboyant radio engineer who loves to sing and dance for the love of his life and also becomes an important part of the freedom struggle by giving Usha the radio she will use to galvanize an entire nation. But is Firdaus Engineer a real person or is it a figment of imagination? Let’s find out.
Firdaus Engineer in Ae Watan Mere Watan: Who was He in Real Life?
The character of Firdaus Engineer is based on the real-life person Nanka Motwane. This was a person who was the owner of a Chicago Radio and gave his radio to help out Usha and her colleagues. An interesting fact about him is that as per an article, Vikramaditya Motwane, the famous director who has directed films and shows like Lootera, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, Trapped, and Sacred Games, also comes from the family of Nanka Motwane.
The radio helped Usha Mehta and her other associates run an underground radio station namely Congress Radio Station where they would broadcast speeches by Congress leaders and help them reach the masses. The Congress Radio Station ran for close to 6 months and then gained the attention of prominent leaders such as Ram Manohar Lohia and his underground freedom fighters.
The Crime Investigation team caught up eventually with those running the radio station and they were brutally tortured in jail. However, at the end of the day, Usha Mehta got her flowers when over 20,000 people greeted her after she came out to greet Usha when she was released from Jail. Nanka Motwane is another one of the unsung freedom fighters who have paved the way for the modern-day India that we live in today. The film is a tribute to such unsung heroes of the freedom struggle and it is imperative that they get their recognition.
The film, however, has not been doing so well and has been criticized for its performances. Currently, it has an IMDB rating of 4.9, but the film certainly does have its moments. Anand Tiwari brings about the best of his performance in an act where he brings out energy and yet stays vulnerable to arrest. The film also talks extensively about religious unity at a subliminal level. As more people see the film over the coming weeks, we hope that people get to see the work of Usha and how significant it was to the overall freedom movement. The film also features an important cameo from Emran Hashmi who plays Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia in a small but significant appearance.
Also Read: Kaushik from Ae Watan Mere Watan Real Story