SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

sumanbarthakursmailbox Ajay Devgan could do with a crash course in scriptwriting. And while he's at it, might be a good idea to fire his co-writers immediately. U, Me Aur Hum, Devgan's directorial debut is let down by a sloppy, slapdash screenplay, which believe it or not it took four writers to come up with. First, they rob the basic premise of Nick Cassavetes' mushy-but-inspiring romance The Notebook, and then Devgan and team go about reconstructing the saga, throwing in unnecessary melodrama and generous dollops of over-sentimentality. Locking eyes with a pretty barmaid, it's love at first sight for Devgan, who plays Ajay Mehra, a cool dude enjoying a luxury holiday with his bickering buddies on a cruise liner. Piya, the object of his affection played by Kajol soon finds herself reciprocating his feelings, and before you know it the couple is married. A little over a year later, Piya is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She blanks out periodically, can't remember birthdays and anniversaries, and even ends up putting her baby's life in danger. As it becomes clear her condition's only getting worse, it's up to Ajay now to make some important decisions. Narrated in flashback some twenty-five years later, U Me Aur Hum is a cheesy tale of enduring love in the face of impossible obstacles. In the name of comedy, the dialogue of U Me Aur Hum is filled with painful puns and redundant rhymes. You're expected to laugh at such silly lines.How about this one -Leaving this cruise is like aborting a child in the seventh month. Still not funny, right? What's also rather offensive is the repeated use of Hindi swear words throughout the early half of the film. Or the tasteless references to masturbation, premature ejaculation and homosexuality. In fact, dialogue writer Ashwani Dhir comes up with a bouquet of someof the most inappropriate lines you've ever heard on screen. Try this -Men are like mice. Always looking for a hole. When it's not thedialogue that jars, it's the acting. The abundantly talented Divya Dutta, cast in this film as an unhappily married wife, hams like an excited junior artiste who's got her first speaking part. She plays the nagging spouse with such over-enthusiasm that your heart genuinely goes out to the poor guy playing her husband even though you know they're just play-acting. Then there's the evidently untalented Karan Khanna, who gives the word 'non-actor' a whole new meaning. Playing one of Ajay's close friends in the film, it doesn't help that he's cast as the kind of idiot that thinks a new born baby should be named F-dash-dash-K-E-R because it's a name that could be quite cool by the time the baby grows up. And if all that's not bad enough, they throw in a fat kid who turns up every now and then to give killer looks. Even if U Me Aur Hum has its heart in the right place, even if it's trying to make a noble point, it's done so amateurishly -- not to mention melodramatically -- that it fails to touch a chord in you. Is it really too much to ask for just a little common sense in a Bollywood film? How can you place a mischievous seductive song right after that supposedly emotional scene where the husband's just been told his wife must be sent to a special-care facility? Well, to some extent, it's the leads whose credible performances outshine the shoddy script. Ajay Devgan oozes sincerity as the conflicted husband, but it's Kajol who is really the emotional anchor of the film, dazzling you with her spontaneity, pumping life and blood into her character, making Piya a portrait of internalized pain, something even the script fails to do. Look out also for a refreshingly candid performance by Sumeet Raghavan as Ajay's doctor buddy going through his own turbulent marriage graph.Even if it doesn't quite cut it as a quality entertainer, U Me Aur Hum does give evidence of Devgan's sharp directing skills. If you're prepared to overlook the unnecessarily excessive special effects shots and the ridiculous over-use of tight close-ups, you will notice the sheer inventiveness with which he handles the three best scenes in the film. First, that one in which one after another a handful of friends break into a impromptu rendition of an evergreen Bollywood song at a house party. Then that excellent dramatic scene in which Piya inadvertently puts her child in harm's way, fortunately rescued in time by her husband. And finally, the film's last scene, that hopeful exchange between Ajay and Piya, laced with a tinge of humor. All pretty basic scenes on paper, they stand out because they've been directed so instinctively by Devgan. Watch it if you must for the performances of its two leads, both Ajay and Kajol do not disappoint. The film, well that's another story!

Peter Young 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.

CAMKG 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.

HeadleyLamarr 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.