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U Me Aur Hum

Movie U Me Aur Hum Director Ajay Devgan Producer Ajay Devgan Music Vishal Bharadwaj Cast Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Isha Sharwani, Sarika

Taran Adarsh

Aamir Khan has raised the bar with Taare Zameen Par. Comparisons between Aamir and Ajay Devgan, who makes his directorial debut with U Me Aur Hum, would be erroneous. But you can't turn a blind eye to the fact that the viewer would expect an encore with U Me Aur Hum. So will the film live up to its humungous hype and expectations? Does Devgan have the trappings of a fine storyteller? Oh yes, he does! Let's come to the point right away. Devgan needs to be lauded for choosing a daringly different theme in his debut film and, most importantly, doing justice to it. We know him as a powerful actor; now there's yet another tag added to his name�avant-garde director. Let's move on to the next query! Is the real-life couple�Ajay and Kajol�as dynamic? The answer is they're electrifying. Both pitch in bravura performances, reaffirming the fact that this jodi is among the finest of this generation. One of the prime reasons why U Me Aur Hum works, and works big time, is because it's aimed at the heart. Anyone who's into relationships, anyone who believes in love, anyone who thinks from the heart, anyone who has watched his/her partner grapple with a grave disease, will identify with it. To cut a long story short, U Me Aur Hum marks the birth of a powerhouse of talent. You may want to watch the film for various reasons, but watch it, most importantly, for a new director who respects your time and the hard-earned bucks you have invested on watching his movie. It's time to fall in love with love� again! The first time Ajay [Ajay Devgan] saw Pia [Kajol], she served him drinks. However, she affected him more than the alcohol� it was love at first sight. The first time Pia saw Ajay, he had had a drink too many. She watched him make a fool of himself and was relieved when he passed out. Ajay is on a cruise with his friends�Nikhil [Sumeet Raghavan] and Reena [Divya Dutta], unhappily married, and Vicky [Karan Khanna] and Natasha [Isha Sharwani], happily unmarried. Ajay is having a wonderful time dealing with martial strife, bad language and huge hangovers, when he finds Pia and time stands still. After a disastrous first meeting, Ajay tries everything to woo her. He wants her, by hook, crook or even her little private notebook. She's not an easy catch, but finally he manages to dance his way into her heart. Ajay and Pia develop a strong and special bond. Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry. And Ajay-Pia love each other dearly, but no marriage can be complete without problems. Ajay and Pia also have to face hurdles�Pia is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. How does the couple face the crisis? The one thing you must carry when you set out to watch U Me Aur Hum is a box of tissues. For this film makes you shed a tear at times, cry at other times and weep in at least two vital sequences. But it's not just rona-dhona that you get to see. The first hour, strictly average in terms of writing, has several sunshine moments. It's breezy, funny, at times silly, but interesting. What also catches your eye is the cinematography [Aseem Bajaj in top form]. The songs, the glam look, the subtle humour� you don't take to the film instantly, but you know for a fact that a volcano is waiting to erupt. And the volcano does erupt in the second hour! Ajay Devgan, the director, shows his expertise as the story does an about-turn, exposing the delicate, sensitive and fragile relationships. Devgan reserves the best for the concluding reels and you finally get the answers in the end. U Me Aur Hum is a director's film. A theme like the one projected in this film could go dangerously haywire if entrusted to inept hands, but Devgan seems to have done his homework well. The only glitch is the length of the second half. A shorter narrative would've only helped! Robin Bhatt, Sutanu Gupta and Akarsh Khurana's screenplay casts a hypnotic spell in the second hour. Sure, the germ stems from The Notebook (James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Rachel McAdams, 2004), but the writers have altered the screenplay keeping Indian sensibilities in mind. And it works! Ashwani Dhir's dialogues touch your heart. Every sentence has a meaning. Vishal Bhardwaj's music may not be a chartbuster, but it alternates between soulful and melancholically beautiful. Aseem Bajaj's cinematography is top notch. Monty Sharma's background score is effective. Now to the performances! U Me Aur Hum is like a medal that glimmers on Ajay Devgan's body of work. He's exceptional! Kajol, well, what can you say of an actress who has proved herself time and again? That she's undoubtedly the best has been proved yet again. Sumeet Raghavan is first-rate. Divya Dutta gets into the groove in the subsequent portions. Karan Khanna and Isha Sharwani are okay. Sachin Khedekar does a fine job. Aditya Rajput and Hazel get minimal scope. On the whole, U Me Aur Hum is a well-made, absorbing love story that's high on the emotional quotient. At the box-office, it's the kind of film that will gather more and more speed with each passing show. Its business at multiplexes should be fantastic. Overseas too should be excellent. Very strongly recommended!