Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Kiron Kher, Rishi Kapoor
Director: Kunal Kohli
Producer: Aditya Chopra, Yash Raj Films
Music: Jatin Lalit
Saif, Script, Screenplay
Some Episodes are Dragged and are un-called for

Yes this world is divided, between castes, creed, religion, geographical boundaries and of course between Men (Hum) and Women (Tum). And this is the premise of the new Yashraj Films, conflict between ‘The Men’ and ‘The Women’.

Hum Tum is Kunal Kohli’s tale of how the two genders are radically different. Through the eyes, or rather, pencil of a cartoonist Karan Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan). What Men want? What Women want? And this movie from Yashraj Banner tries to find the answer to these questions. Hum Tum is a simple love story about a guy meets girls, they have differences, they fight, they become friends; they are separated due to misconception and towards the climax every problem is sorted out. It’s a simple magical formula that has worked for ages and Yash Chopra and Company has been milking it since DDLJ happened almost a decade back. Each time it has clicked for them and earned them both rewards and awards. And Hum Tum is no different. It’s a nice film and people would love the way the story has been treated.

Perhaps Rajshri Productions, the people behind last weak dud ‘Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai’ should take a cue from Yashraj banner. Rajshri started out with family sagas and it worked like magic for them when everyone was tired of watching crappy B-Grade action flicks. But there formula isn’t working anymore. Where are they faltering?

The magic lies in the treatment. The way Hum Tum is treated is completely new for Indian audience. Acknowledged, it is heavily inspired from Billy Crystal-Meg Ryan starrer ‘When Harry Met Sally’. But, how many of such adaptations work? Not many!!! But yes, Hum Tum works; it makes you want to fall in love again, to be loved, to sing, to dance and above all to live life come what may. ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is regarded as one of the best Hollywood Love story and Hum Tum would be loved for its simplicity and sweet and bitter moments between the main protagonists. Where Yashraj Films have left Rajshri behind is the way they have nurtured their way of film making with the ever changing audience tastes. The Yashraj’s craft of storytelling has moved zillion miles ahead of that of Barjatya’s. And that is the simple logic behind the failure of ‘Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai’ and the magical moments of Hum Tum.

Hum Tum is a story of Karan Kapoor - Hum (Saif Ali Khan) and Rhea - Tum (Rani Mukherjee). Karan is a cartoonist and his cartoon strip ‘Hum Tum’ appears in one of India’s leading newspaper. Hum Tum because that’s how he sees the world divided. No countries, no religions, just two divisions - boys and girls.

Karan and Rhea meet for the first time on a flight to New York, en-route Amsterdam. They disagreed on everything. So to put things right, Karan innocently kissed her - to confirm their friendship. But Rhea takes it badly and slaps him. Their first meeting ends on a bad note.

Six months later the duo meets once again in New York. Karan has a steady girlfriend. Rhea hasn’t forgotten the Amsterdam kiss. So she decides to let the cat out of the bag and Karan’s loses his steady girlfriend. Another relationship down the drain!

Time goes by and they keep meeting and splitting. There relation turns from bad, to worst to ugly. But somewhere down in our guts we feel, destiny has better plans for Karan and Rhea.

Ten years pass since their first encounter. Once again Rhea and Karan become friends despite their differences. Rhea has gone through some personal tragedies in her life, lots of ups and downs but Karan has always been there for her, filling the void in her life, making her smile and live life. During this time, she has moved all over the place, from Mumbai to Paris to New York and back to Mumbai.

Karan tries everything to make her happy. He even tries fixing her up with a friend (Jimmy Shergill) of his but as with everything else, this didn’t quite work out either. One thing leads to another and Rhea goes away once again on a bad term with him.

Would Hum Tum meet again? Can they fall in love despite their differences? Check out the movie to know the answers.

I rate it a fantastic 4 out of 5. Go for it

So that brings us to the questions:

What women want?
Women want to control their men. Be it their husband, children, brothers.

And what men want?
Men want to be independent and lead a free life. But deep down they know they need someone to care for them, tell them where they faltered and what is good and bad. Men are basically childish at their heart and they don’t accept this fact even if someone puts that on stamp paper.

And this is the essence of Hum Tum. And these facts are slowly spoon fed to viewers.

On the direction front, Kunal Kohli scores full points for his screenplay and direction. The script is adorned with wit and humor, with Saif getting all the punch lines, and delivering them in his characteristic style. The screenplay is fast and story never looks as if it is dragging. Kunal has dealt with both the funny and the emotional scenes with brilliance. He makes audience laugh and cry with tremendous ease. Even the emotional sequences are poignant, yet are not filled with the clichd dialogues we keep hearing in soap operas.

This movie is a test for Saif. His films like ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ and ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ have done well but in these movies Saif was side kick, the accolades were always taken away by the likes of Aamir and Shahrukh. Saif is the central character of Hum Tum and he carries the movie at ease. It’s clear that the character of Karan has been written with Saif Ali Khan in mind. I just cannot visualize any other actor in this role pulling it off so well. Karan is Saif and Saif is Karan. He does not need to shriek, make faces and make sexual gestures to make the audience laugh. On the other hand, although you often feel that his character is just like his previous films - quick witted and carefree. Watch out how he transforms from a skirt chaser into a caring and loving husband and father.

Rani does justice to her character. She may not have all those funny lines but her work is commendable. She gets better and better with each film.

The film has loads of guest appearances. Be it Rishi Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri, Rani’s doting and loveable blabbermouth mother - Kiron Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Abhishek Bachchan, Ishaa Koppikar and Shenaz Treasuryvala. Everyone adds zing to small sub-stories.

The Abhishek episode was a bit dragged and uncalled for but it was passable. The movie is watch able for Saif’s antics, the way his relationship with Rani is sketched and developed, and loveable cartoon character Hum and Tum.