U Me Aur Hum

A story with a message - BUT the message is simplistically simple, the love story is INSPIRED by a few films (Notebook, 50 first dates etc.) and banal, and the dialogs are horrendous. I think a Kajol or Ajay fan can see it (I did). Ajay made this one so it feels exactly like the summary he wrote for IMDb – and that summary was worse than a grade school summary of a book or film. Even the tag line is lifted from the amazing Painted Veil. Unfortunately none of the quality of that marital strife film rubs off on U Me Aur Hum.

I really like Kajol, and thought she looked very good in the first half of K3G (a film I quite dislike) but then they choose to make her haggard in the second half and she has kept that look. What is with all that dark dark eye makeup? Does she want to become the Rekha of her time? There were a few moments when she looked great, but most of the time she was OTT with white lipstick and big black mascara. Ajay just looked dour most of the time and it did not help that the extreme closeup photography enhanced every blackhead, every pore, every wrinkle in the faces of the couple.

A couple of scenes engaged me, but the dialogs were bad beyond belief. The kid has to be named with an F, so F U dash dash E R is a great name? A long winded dialog about 'cutting the arm off' was so stupid I thought at first that I didn't get some profound statement that was being made. Ajay was great in HDDCS - he would say "You know something? Never mind!" and I loved him for that. But this is carrying a great dialog to silly extremes (repeated 100 times in UMAH) without the catch line, which was NEVER MIND and suited the character of Vanraj!

I can hum Dil Dhakda hai - so maybe one song was OK. But the lyrics for all the songs were horrific – here is a sample of lyrics from Dhakda hai! Dil laaya hoon, tang do khunti pe, sapnon mein aajaana, raat ko hoon duty pe!! That Phatte number was simply atrocious in lyrics, melody and choreography. The Saiyyan song - that was the most inappropriate insertion of a song into a situation EVER!

In summary, U Me Aur Hum is a most banal film. With a silly bottom line - if you love you wife/(mother/father) do not send them to an institution when they get Alzheimers or start failing. Forget the fact that most people cannot send them to that 5 star type facility she went to, and for others sending them to any kind of facility is not a financial option. The tragedy of the disease was never really explored was it? For that we still have to look to Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Maara.

As for the marital advice - I've seen better from Dear Abby.

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.

Ajay Devgan's directorial debut U, Me Aur Hum is quite interesting for its light and colourful background. But despite a promising combination of romance and drama, beautiful locations and two great actors who are perfect for their respective parts, it loses itself. It is lost within all the unnecessary jokes, the confusing flashbacks and the ever-changing sequences from present to past and vice-versa. It's a good story marred by unstable and average film-making. In the first half it heavily relies on comedy that does not really bring out great laughs. In the second, it is far more interesting but never really manages to remain consistent. The dialogues, the drama are uninspiring, as is the film. The film is generally watchable despite the weak script and has several great things about it. Kajol and Ajay Devgan, a real-life couple, give two good performances, and their chemistry is obviously good as it has always been. Ajay, in a different role, is cool, mature and convincing. Aactually, as a director, he does a relatively impressive debut as well, and he rightly makes his talented wife the centre of attention here. Yeh, and it is our Kajol, who is natural and compelling. I liked the entire concept of Alzheimer and predicted a typical emotionally temperamental film. Happily, it didn't go over-the-top. But sadly, I somehow lost it and didn't see the point of the film. Maybe I should re-watch it.

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)

I was very disappointed by Raju Chacha (which was produced by Ajay Devgan) and I was hoping U ME AUR HUM will not go the same way.

And believe me I ended up enjoying the movie. Though I am not yet sure whether this a rip-off of some Hollywood movie, but was impressed with the cute love story, refreshing camera work, eye-catching colors, funny and enjoyable dialouges, good music (though it could have done with less songs) and last very very good acting by Ajay and Kajol.

After Amir Khan, its Ajay Devgan's turn to impress.

Strongly Recommended!!!

8.5/10