On Saturday (6th April), veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the poster of ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ and urged everyone to watch the film on the Over-The-Top (OTT) platform Amazon Prime.
Even though the movie has poor ratings (4.9 stars out of 10 on IMDB), he requested people to watch the film on the OTT platform simply because ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ glorifies the Congress party and its role during the Quit India Movement of 1942.
Jairam Ramesh thought it would be a good idea to link the freedom movement exclusively with the Congress and disseminate such a narrative, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
When the Mahatma launched the Quit India movement 82 years ago under the aegis of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad, Prasad, Pant and many others were jailed. The movement went underground, enabled in part by the Congress Radio. The newly-released OTT movie… pic.twitter.com/POq4DbZjXw
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 6, 2024
He said in a tweet, “When the Mahatma launched the Quit India movement 82 years ago under the aegis of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad, Prasad, Pant and many others were jailed. The movement went underground, enabled in part by the Congress Radio.”
“The newly-released OTT movie Ae Watan Mere Watan is a stirring ode to the role played by the Congress Radio in the Quit India Movement. Usha Thakkar’s book on this subject is another very powerful resource,” Jairam Ramesh further claimed.
The veteran Congress leader also spread canards about former Jan Sangh leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Interestingly, a few months ago, the Congress ecosystem was claiming that OTT platforms in India as Netflix and Amazon Prime has fallen prey to ‘Hindutva politics.’
"Facing pressure in India from pro-government supporters and right-wing groups, Netflix and Amazon back down on daring films" pic.twitter.com/aFz4mHG8zZ https://t.co/yocu17lPIs
— Mens Rea (@DSdoc97) November 21, 2023
“Facing pressure in India from pro-government supporters and right-wing groups, Netflix and Amazon back down on daring films,” wrote one mens rea.
One Ashish Dikshit tweeted, “Netflix and Amazon buckle under pressure from Modi’s party and government in India
Western propaganda newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post were also at the helm of casting aspersions about the creative freedom of OTT platforms under the Narendra Modi government.
Netflix and Amazon buckle under pressure from Modi's party and government in India: https://t.co/uSPHlDlwV0
— ashish dikshit (@DikshitAshish) November 21, 2023
“New: Under pressure from the Hindu right, Netflix and Amazon in India drop projects touching on political, social issues and documentaries. After “Tandav,” Amazon’s head went into hiding and surrendered passport. Netflix execs feared risk of arrest,” claimed one X user in November last year.
New: Under pressure from the Hindu right, Netflix and Amazon in India drop projects touching on political, social issues and documentaries. After "Tandav," Amazon's head went into hiding and surrendered passport. Netflix execs feared risk of arrest. pic.twitter.com/vIEe81Z9BA
— ?ᴬˢʰʷᵃᵐᵉᵈʰᵃ? ⁽ᴹᵒᵈⁱ ᵏᵃ ᴾᵃʳⁱᵛᵃʳ⁾ (@_Ashwamedha) November 21, 2023
“Netflix in India under pressure from conservative Right!” another user said while sharing one newspaper report from The New York Times.
Netflix in India under pressure from conservative Right! via @NYTimes https://t.co/ABoC76Av78
— Iconoclast101 (@Iconoclast10122) January 14, 2024
“This section of cinephiles champions free speech when films w problematic themes face criticism on social media & they label mere criticism as anti-free speech. but today Nayanthara’s Annapoorani got removed from netflix due to sanghis pressure & all of them have gone mute,” one user brazened out in a tweet in January this year.
this section of cinephiles champions free speech when films w problematic themes face criticism on social media & they label mere criticism as anti free speech. but today Nayanthara's Annapoorani got removed from netflix due to sanghis pressure & all of them have gone mute.
— ح (@hmmbly) January 11, 2024
Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh is now asking people to watch a movie on Amazon Prime despite the Congress ecosystem claiming a few months ago that the same OTT platform has bowed down to Hindutva and ‘right-wing’ conservatism.
‘The film ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ has been directed by Kannan Iyer and was released on Amazon Prime on 21st March 2024.
