Hum Tum

The storyline is inspired from When Harry Met Sally, but the indianised version with a few foreign cities thrown in is a good entertainer. Karan, a cartoonist, meets Rhea on a flight to New York. They get well acquainted during a 6 hour stop over in Amsterdam. They have a fall out and they end up going their separate ways once they get to New York. Their chance meetings over then next few years and how their friendship develops gradually over time and how they end up falling in love without even realizing it forms the gist of the story. Saif Ali Khan fits Karan's role perfectly and Rani makes a wonderful Rhea. Even the supporting cat has done a great job. The use of the cartoon characters Hum and Tum in the story narrative adds some color to the movie. It is a welcome change from the cop flicks that have dominated the Indian screen in 2004. All in all, a wonderful movie, worth watching at least once on the big screen.

The writers have done a remarkably good job with the story. Taking an outline of "When Harry Met Sally" and weaving a whole new story (and mind you, likable) was really tough and they have succeeded. Saif has definitely matured as an actor and improved his comic timing. He, as Karan, is one of the big factors, who has contributed to the likability of this movie. The other factor is the female lead Rhea (played by Rani Mukherji), who adds to the fun as well as the sensitive side of the movie. Rishi Kapoor and Rati Agnihotri's (Arjun and Anju Kapoor of the movie) bit of tit-bit was not at all needed. However, the good part is, the director did a good job containing that sub-plot in its small shell and not interfering the main storyline. The main hindrance to the movie were not the songs (as one would typically expect from a Bollywood/IFI movie) but small snippets of animation. I felt that was really unimportant. A good recommendation on similar lines would be the Korean movie "My Sassy Girl" (Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo). However, unlike "My Sassy Girl" this film is a bit predictable (nothing compares to that huge twist of "My Sassy Girl" that ends the movie) and lacks heavily in subtleness of emotion. If you are new to Bollywood/IFI (Indian Film Industry), this might be a good place to star off with. The same applies to people who wish to introduce someone to Bollywood/IFI. Overall, this film is highly enjoyable. Highly Recommended.

I enjoyed Hum Tum. To no one's surprise, Saif and Rani did a superb job. I don't think anyone has better comic timing than Saif. He's a natural actor. Rani has always worked really hard. Songs were great. I especially liked the Mere Dil Vich Hum Tum track and the title song. Like all other Yash Raj films, this movie has a very fresh feeling. I was rather delighted to see all the guest appearances. I was completely unaware of that. I really am not a fan of Rishi Kapoor. I don't know why, but I find him really irritating. He just doesn't seem that convincing to me. The cartoons got really irritating. It's weird, in the middle of a real-people movie, to all of a sudden start watching cartoon characters. Thankfully, the cartoons died down a bit in the second half. It's also a bit annoying how the film spans over nine years. Every half hour it says "3 years later," "1 year later," "4 years later." Being a Yash Raj film, my expectations for this movie were super-duper high, but I still liked it. It's a fun-filled romantic comedy.

As in when Harry met Sally Bollywood style. And thank God Karan met Rhea because he was sure to have met something more like GONORRHEA or worse with the way he was girl hopping in this film (a trait that was clearly handed down to him by his dad).

Karan of course is played by the hilariously dashing Saif Ali Khan and Rhea is played by that class-act of an actress called Rani Mukherji. They meet aboard a plane heading to the USA from India and instantly sparks fly, but not the kind you're thinking of. They both irritate each other to the extent that they argue over the slightest things and everything becomes a debate or battle of the sexes. While in Amsterdam, in the heat of an argument, Karan kisses Rhea and when they arrive in NYC, she is soon to find out that they are going there to meet the same person, her college best-friend who happens to also be Karan's girlfriend. Karan gets the punishment he rightfully deserves and as years pass by he returns to India one day to find out that his mum, a wedding planner by profession is planning a wedding for none other than Rhea, whom he becomes reacquainted with. He realises during the course of her engagement and marriage that he is in love with her but can do nothing to stop it.

Oh and let me also add that there are cartoons included in between many scenes, hence the title Hum Tum with the cartoon characters on the cover. Hum Tum (You and I or Yours and Mine in Hindi) are Karan's characters from a column he does for India Times newspaper which is a big hit for him and in fact, the film starts off with him giving a speech at a press conference for a book about the cartoon characters which he has just written and is a best-seller. Abhishek Bachchan who appears briefly in the film seems to have carved out a niche for himself with these sort of silly, blink and you'll miss it cameo roles he loves to play (see his roles in Salaam Namaste, and Rakht) nowadays. But then again he's Jr. B so he can pretty much do whatever the heck he wants.

The premise of a philandering husband who deserts his wife and after 17 years he returns and she accepts him back is barbaric to say the least! Did the writer's expect the audience to side with or feel sorry for Karan's dad? That was a weak point within the film. Sob sub-plots like that (and I've seen many in a lot of Hindi films) make Hindustani men look bad.

The producers not only stole from the Hollywood classic When Harry Met Sally, for the cartoon characters, there was a scene in which they not only stole the "flying scene" from Titanic, they also stole the "My heart will go on" melody. Very shameless people, those folks at Yash Raj films! Anywho, I loved the music and backdrop for this film, Rani and Saif not only had great chemistry, they also acted well and in fact did double duty as playback singers for some songs in the film as well (Well done guys! you rock!), I however detracted a few points because the film was unnecessarily long. I detected up to 10 instances where the film could have ended and left to the audience to decide what would have happened next and let me just say that 10 endings is plenty too many!

Hum Tum follows the encounters of two people who run into each other on several occasions under circumstances ranging from friendly to hostile to loving. Along many years and countless run-ins, the two despise each other, befriend each other, and fall in love with each other.

The storyline is a bit formulaic and quite predictable, and it drag on and on in some parts. And the jumping "three years later" "six years later" is a bit much, it's also quite plausible that they meet at different places, after a long time and at right time like that.

The acting is fantastic; Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukhurjee did a solid job in the lead roles, they brought both energy and charisma in their performance. They portray the different lifes their characters find themselves in a convincing manner. The supporting characters are okay, Kirron Kher did a good as the goofy but supportive mother of Rhea, Rishi Kapoor as the somewhat estranged father is well-acted but I'm not a fan of the character, there's something off about him and I find him somewhat unlikable.

The soundtrack is amazing, very catchy songs, especially the one with the film's title - Hum Tum. the production design is top-notch, some exotic locations and beautiful sceneries, some rain and snow here and there to add more dramatic effect.

The cinematography is excellent; some good camera angles and panning during tense or emotional moments like the scene where after they fight in the bar, the camera tilts downward and slowly moves back as she walks out of his life, and creating distance between them, both figuratively and literally.

The animation that comes in unannounced at times is frustrating, and I'm not sure why they even spent money on it. The character design is awful, they look like something straight out of Ben 10. I'd have preferred if they left it out but still it was fun.

All in all, Hum Tum is a beautiful, emotional charged love story, with some likable performances and good production value. I had a good time watching it.