Hum

Late Filmmaker Mukul S. Anand was A Visionary. Just take a look at his handling over any film he's made. Be it 'Agneepath', 'Main Balwaan' & 'Hum', he has his own vision, which in every manner, is stylish. 'Hum' is one of his best works.

'Hum' is well-written, well-acted & marvelously directed by the late genius. Anand has his stamp all-over the film & emerges a big winner. I loved the film, more so, for the execution Anand has given to this story. Sure, The Screenplay is entertaining, but Anand's work in here stands out! A Special Mention for the fantastic Music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

Performance-Wise: Amitabh Bachchan is in his element. Rajinikanth is pretty decent. Govinda is terrific, as always. Kimi Katkar is proficient. Deepa Sahi is fair. Shilpa Shirodkar is passable. Danny is simply spell-binding, while Anupam Kher shows a menacing side of his. Kader Khan is dependable.

On the whole, 'Hum' demands a viewing, thanks to the high-class execution given by Anand.

The first thing I said to myself while watching David Cronenberg's History of Violence was "Damn, this is Tiger's story told in reverse!" Mukul Anand's Hum is a landmark film in many ways. Apart from being one of Bachchan's truly last leading men roles, it (a) gave us the item number of the decade in "Jumma Chumma" (still gets a Bollywood party going anywhere in the world), (b) brought Big B and Rajni together for the last time, (c) gave us last of the legendary Bachchan drunkard scenes, (d) brought Haryanvi into mainstream B'wood through Anupam Kher's Girdhar and (e) gave us the last truly memorable Bollywood villain in Danny's Bhaktawar (that over the top villainy is long dead). Hum is one of those guilty pleasures of childhood (VHS tapes) that actually hasn't aged so bad. The reason is that at the core of it, it's a pretty cool movie about how our past can come back to haunt us. And how families can either be destroyed or come together to fight it out. Hum is an apt case study in good Bollywood masala entertainer genre: how to turn a completely fantastic nonserious storyline into an entertaining 3-hour long movie with an all-star cast, song and dance affair with the right amount of genuine comedy (Kader Khan, Anu Kapoor) and iconic one liners and scenes. It even had the done to death double role twist thrown into the mix and not a piece looks out of place because it's made with such frantic pace and style that you don't have time to ponder. But for me, the scene that really propels the movie beyond the usual run of the mill affair is where Bachchan gets his Tiger mojo back while inquiring about his missing sister-in-law at a bus stand. A rowdy bus driver misbehaves with him, which obviously pissed Bachchan off. But this is not normal anger. This is someone-is-going-get-hurt-real-bad level anger. He takes his glasses off and shrugs his partly grey hair in slow-motion and pulls the driver out of the bus and onto the street before tearing his uniform to shreds- all this while the Tiger leitmotif soundtrack is brought back from slumber to insane goosebumpy effects! Only Bachchan could have pulled this scene off and this is the last time he did something like this onscreen. That was 1991. History of violence ended that year.

This was a childhood favourite of mine. This was the second in the trilogy of the late Mukul Anand- Amitabh Bachan collaborations, the first being Agneepath and the third being Khuda Gawah. In my opinion this was the best in the trilogy. Amitabh was extraordinary whilst Govinda and Rajnikanth provided good support as his younger brothers.

The songs were chart-busters and I still listen to them. The lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi and the music directors were Laxmikant- Pyarelal My favourites were either Jhomma Chumma or Ek Doosre se. Anupum Kher was OK but Danny was great as Bhaktawar. The action was superb, especially in the end scene where Anupum Kher and Amitabh are fighting in the helicopter.

Hum review :

I have an interesting personal anecdote to share about Hum. The much hyped and most eagerly awaited film of 1991 was to come on February 1, 1991. As a school kid, I had saved nearly three months of pocket money for its FDFS viewing. The grand day finally arrived and I was in front of Gaiety cinema, Bandra for the matinee show. It was obviously 'Housefull' and the obnoxious blackwallah demanded Rs. 500 for one ticket, an unheard of amount in 1991. Even today, this amount makes for an IMAX viewing in a premium multiplex so you can well imagine my shock!!! Returned back disappointed and finally watched Hum the same week on VHS.

The film was special for Amitabh Bachchan fans primarily for two reasons :

One, for having him in his much loved angry young man personna in first half and then playing his age in second half where the family scenes are the most endearing part.

Second, ofcourse the Jumma Chumma number which had Bachchan sizzle the screen with hottie Kimi Katkar playing the girl named Friday.

Of the cast, Rajinikanth, Govinda, Deepa Sahi, Shilpa Shirodkar - all lend able support. I particularly love Govinda and Shilpa hot up the Mauritius beach in "Sanam Mere Sanam" song. But overall, Hum was a complete Bachchan show. Tiger was a ferocious character who doesn't forget his punches even after he ages.

One of Bachchan's best roles in 90s, Hum took the box office by storm even ignoring a certain trade analyst who was hell bent on calling it a flop. After all, yeh public hai...yeh sab janti hai.

Completing 100 days run at prestigious Metro cinema (Mumbai), it emerged one of the biggest hits of the year and won Amitabh Bachchan his third Filmfare Best actor award. Rightfully!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni

HUM or "US"redefined the notion of entertainment in indian cinema by introducing sophisticated use of camera framing and an exploration of the use of irony in the guise of farce .Most villains in Mukul Anand's films are caricatures and in this respect "HUM" introduces this specificity in this talented director's cinema. The rhythmic song and dance number "JOOMA CHUMMA DE DE "got packed houses dancing literally from India to USA.This film also brought to a cinema art et essai director his first feeling of what a popular film director's reputation meant .