U Me Aur Hum

All I had seen of this movie was a lot of promos and nothing much else. But I was rather surprised with the content of this movie and was very pleased to see one of my favourite actresses, Kajol, back on the screen.

Ajay goes on a cruise with a couple of friends where he meets Pia, a waitress and for him its love at first sight but for Pia, she follows her heart and watches Ajay, who is a Physchiatrist, make a fool of himself by getting drunk. The next day, she has the pleasure of handing him a massive bill to pay for. However, everything goes well and the two get married until one day, Pia tells Ajay that she can't remember much.

Starring Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Divya Dutta, Vishesh Didwani and Robin Bhatt, this is a good debut for the "Top Gun," Ajay Devgan for his directorial debut. He has done a good job of it and more so as he has highlighted a disease - Alzheimers, which is affecting countless people in this world. Not even the late President Ronald Regan, of the United States, where, as well as in the other countries, a lot of money has been spent on research, could be saved from this. Kajol's acting, and not just because she is one of my favourite actresses, is good, but because she has managed to carry her part extremely well. The romantic part, is not for Ajay Devgan. Its may be because I am use to watching him in action roles. But I felt it was not for him and may be it should have been handed over to the likes of Shah Rukh. And what was most annoying was the amount of times the character kept on saying: "You know..." I am sorry but if this was in an examination, the writer would have failed for repeating countless times - I lost count completely. In fact the last count I remember was 12.Also, the first half could have been shortened a bit and some scenes could have been edited as they were making the first half a bit dragging. There were moments, where I felt like going to sleep or doing something else.

U, Me Aur Hum is definitely a movie that is one of the best that have been released so far this year. The credit for a good directional debut is definitely for Ajay Devgan and this is a movie that is good to watch.

Last week i saw the movie..this is debut directional movie by Ajay Devgan..the one and only positive thing about this movies is Kajol is still in form and ready for rock.Honestly say this movie is inspired by Hollywood movies and also visual effects too..but some shots are really good and hats off to cinematography...its amazing!!! other star cast is fit to their roles.. music is not well just title song is good. if some song is deleted then it would be good.the story is good but due to poor script it goes waste. If you like the emotional movie with typical Hindi Masala then buy a DVD and see this movie,there is no need to go theater to see this movie. overall if you are the crazy fans of Ajay and Kajol then watch is movie!!

These days in Bollywood, handicap (whether mental or physical) seems to be the trend. Even the popular 'Om Shanti Om' parodies this. After 'Black', 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara', 'Fanaa', 'Taare Zameen Par', 'Naina' etc, we have 'U, Me Aur Hum' and the only film that stands out is 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara' followed by 'Taare Zameen Par' to an extent. So what's wrong with 'U, Me Aur Hum'? Well, there's too many wrongs in this one.

The screenplay is inconsistent, imbalanced and exaggerated. The writing is just so bad that some of the dialogues make one cringe. The Ajay-Piya before-marriage love story is both unconvincing and uninteresting thanks to the terrible writing. The scenes on the ship are boring. It does remind one of 'Mann' (a movie which I liked except for the ripoff part) but the Ajay-Kajol chemistry does not match up to what Aamir and Manisha had (in addition 'Mann' had some very good dialogues). Most of the jokes and 'one-liners' fail to make an impression. While in the post-interval portion when one would expect things to get better as the story takes a drastic turn, things are too exaggerated.

The camera-work is both overused and misused. Why were scenes being shot from a strange angle? The close-ups were irritating as they were pointlessly in-your-face. The CGI is terrible AND it is excessively overdone. The songs are forgettable. Most of them are better forgotten. The salsa sequence is terrible (the horrendous cinematography does not help here) and some of the backup dancers were laughable.

As a director Ajay Devgan fails to put it all together. He should have hired a better writer and written something better himself (since he's credited as writer). His film looks very messy. As an actor he's average. Watch Jim Broadbent in 'Iris' to see an amazing performance and compare that to Ajay's (both are similar roles). Kajol too gives an inconsistent performance which is overall average. It does not rank among her best. The supporting cast don't leave a mark. Isha Shervani is there to say a sentence or two and to remind us of how flexible she is. Divya Dutta hams in the beginning but is gradually okay.

Devgan may have had good intentions and in some scenes it is apparent that he really tried to do well. Acting and directing is a tough task and only few talented people manage to pull that off. Sadly that isn't the case for Mr. Devgan. And why is it that in most (if not all) Hindi films, healthcare institutes are shown as this cold indifferent lonely place? Yes, support from family and friends is important but sometimes people do need to be admitted to institutes where they can be taken better care of because what others provide is really not enough.

Ajay Devgan's U, Me Aur Hum is an imperfect film. It will never be taught in a film school. Intellectually, you can make a laundry list of the flaws in the film. Cynics will like to point out the similarities between this and some Hollywood films like The Notebook, Iris and Away From Her - all films involving Alzheimer's and memory loss.

There are some who have even pointed out that Devgan should have done a scene-by-scene copy instead of a thematic one. I wish you had a magnetic cynic-o-meter at the theaters for these cynics so they would not be allowed to watch the film.

U, Me Aur Hum is the realization of Devgan's belief in his film and his conviction in telling a story his way. It is an emotional film and in that sense a very good film. It works because the drama is genuine and Ajay and Kajole are seasoned performers who have great chemistry.

There are some who say that Ajay and Kajole have gotten old. Those people are not only cynical but superficial as well. Such people should perhaps invest their money in a copy of Maxim or FHM instead of this film.

To the passionate independent filmmaker U, Me Aur Hum would be very inspiring. Devgan has put everything into a story he believed and then put a team of people together who may or may not be the who's who in Bollywood, but who are nevertheless talented. These people have obviously bought into Devgan's vision and what has translated on screen is very genuine, very from-the-heart and very moving.

Co-writer Robin Bhatt, co-producer Kumar Mangat, cinematographer Aseem Bajaj, composer Vishal Bharadwaj, supporting cast Sachin Khedekar, Divya Dutta and gang are all to be applauded for their efforts. Special mention to new lyricist Munna Dhiman - seems like another Prasoon Joshi in the making.

Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgan - apart from being actor-director-producers - have something else in common: they have always been original in their thinking and tread their own path. They are superstars aspiring to be and remain artists. The coming years in Bollywood are going to be very exciting. The size of the film will not be based on budget or star power, but ideas and heart. Ajay Devgan will also have his part to play in these new 'big' films.

There is not a long list of actors who also became successful directors. But first Aamir Khan successfully proved it and now Ajay Devgan also shows his sparks of direction.

His directorial debut is a sensitive and emotional love story of a married couple. The real life pair Ajay & Kajol both fit to their roles as a 'T'. A special worthy praise is deserved by Kajol for her lovable act and Ajay for choosing a difficult subject.

In simple words, U Me Aur Hum is not a family drama, it is not a film with bubbly valentine kind of love. But its intense, emotional and mature in content. Though it lacks in some departments but the overall impact at the end of the movie is quite touchy.

The first half starts with influences of "An Affair To Remember" and "The Notebook". But after the marriage of the lead actors, the film just moves on to a different unexpected platform. The story is about the wife suffering with Alzheimer disease and how the family and friends around, face this truth with love and courage.

No doubt a difficult subject to choose for a directorial debut. The only problem is that the viewers expected a good enjoyable love story with many lighter moments to share. But the film is more of a slow, heavy and mature love story. Still Ajay Devgan, the director, manages to extract brilliant performances and also visualizes some memorable scenes which can make your eyes wet. Specially the last hour of the film. It has some very emotional scenes to cherish.

The most lacking department of the movie is the Music. If only it had some soothing and melodious love songs, the impact would have been 10 times better. There is no slow & soft love song with meaningful lyrics which was a must according to the demand of the script as I see it. May be Ajay avoided that deliberately. Vishal Bhardwaj misses the train this time.

Performance wise Kajol is superlative and majestic in all her characters. As a smart waitress, as a girl ready to fall in love, as a lover, as a wife and as a mother. She slips into all shades of her character with such an ease and elegance. Unarguably one of her best performances till date. Ajay is soft and has underplayed his character, but he emotes well as a worried and caring husband. His performance in the second half is much better and impressive. Another gem of a performance is by Divya Dutta. She excels in her small role and makes her presence felt. The scenes where all the friends are together are well written and executed.

It can be said that after "Taare Zameen Par" this is the second movie on the theme of a disease and how the family copes with it. But there should be no comparison drawn between the two. "U Me Aur Hum" is more for the mature audiences and it may be treated as "Heavy" by the younger generation.

But the movie has the truth of life in it. Anybody can face this, as we all live in an uncertain life. And "U ME Aur Hum" teaches how to live life with love even when the times are real tough.

Go for it if you love intense drama and feel that Love is the way to live Life. (I really wish it had better music)