RE: U Me Aur Hum - 2008 (11. April) - 4

Rating: 3.25/5

Presentation:
Ajay Devgan must be appreciated for his valiant debut effort and also for the complex subject he chose which he presented in a mature manner. The narration of the tale and its subsequent presentation of events is worth praising and he has been well supported by a brilliant cinematography and some excellent editing. The music may not have come up with heart rendering numbers but the background score had enough voltage to move the audience. The screenplay was effective and though the script could not do much for all characters, it was above average. Ajay Devgan was his classy best while Kajol has proved that she is still the reigning actress if she wants, their excellent chemistry on screen plays a key role in the movie. The others like Sumeet, Divya, Isha, Karan had limited scope to display their skills but then their presence and their characters added a lot of value to the story. The rest were just about average.

Conclusion:
The film starts off on a humorous note with some good comedy and light situations but it is the second half which really wakes up the audience and takes them into a different plane. For folks who are emotional, please prepare yourself for a turbulent ride of emotions as there is a lot of sentiment and tears along with romance which will shake up the deeply hidden sadness. The film will surely get appreciated for its efforts and the subject, commercially it will definitely head to profits and is most likely a slow poison which will show its effect after few days.

Bharatstudent Verdict: A gripping emotional treat filled with quality, worth taking your near and dear.

Quelle: http://www.bharatstudent.com/cafebharat/...?id=22080&cat=1

12 Apr, 2008 09:13 am ISTlGaurav Malani/INDIATIMES MOVIES

Rating: 3,5/5

Some films just want your heart to take over your mind. U Me aur Hum crafted with heartfelt passion over cerebral challenges is an ideal example. The sheer sincerity and intensity of the attempt involves you so influentially as an audience that the cynic critic takes a backseat and the unstrained spectator comes forth.

Right from the imaginatively designed opening credits inscribed with love definitions from across the globe, the movie sets in a surreal ambience for an endearing experience. Love is in the air as Ajay Devgan takes over as the captain of the ship (director) literally initiating his love story on a cruise-liner. And director Devgan unveils his narrative through actor Ajay who literally takes over as a story-teller in the film to narrate a mesmerizing story in the flashback mode.

Its love at first sight as always for Ajay, who doesn’t take too long to propose to a cruise stewardess Piya (Kajol). To impress his ladylove Ajay manipulates all that Piya likes. Conveniently the girl is awed and the two are soon a couple. So far so fair! But one wonders if director Devgan forgot to add a story to love. But your inhibitions come to rest as the real story begins post-interval where Piya’s amnesiac bouts come into picture imparting a much-needed twist in the linear tale. Bollywood romance flicks love to put love to test. Fortunately this time the novel setting to the love-test gives an entirely fresh outlook to the film.

From the outset one notices how Ajay Devgan chooses a unique story-telling pattern that despite venturing into frequent flashbacks, connects with the audience every time it comes back. Soon one observes how the director allows each scene to mature at its own pace and doesn’t rush with the screenplay. Devgan’s opulent vision is brought to life by Aseem Bajaj’s superlative cinematography that adds soul to every frame. The extreme close-up shots appear a bit disturbing at the start but one soon acclimatizes with the confining camera frames and relishes the result, as the film progresses.

While one might complain of practically no plot in the first half, Devgan still manages to keep the proceedings lively through his charming chemistry with Kajol on the cruise and a delightful demeanour brought in by the friendly supporting cast. His distinctive directorial prowess surfaces in the second half when the story progresses diligently. The meticulously sketched out screenplay comes in as a pleasant surprise from writers Robin Bhatt, Akash Khurana and Sutanu Gupta who are usually associated with formulaic films or blatant rip-offs. Ashwini Dheer adds in a lot of consideration in his thoughtfully penned dialogues. Apart from the requisite wit, his lines impart a lot of insight and depth to the scenes. The team comes up with an impeccably engaging script which is complimented by Ajay Devgan’s confident and matured direction.

Scene after scene the second half simply bowls you over with the fascinating freshness that is brought in the treatment. I might go on mentioning more than a dozen sequences but the ones that boast of exceptional execution are the one where an infant is almost saved from drowning or when Kajol speaks of how freaky the Alzheimer's disease is, not remembering she herself is suffering from it. The romance never gets mushy nor do the emotions get melodramatic with a subtle stroke maintained throughout. The simmering pace and Kajol’s recurring amnesiac spells, rather than getting repetitive, add compelling credibility to the story.

Ajay Devgan also succeeds in extracting authentic performances from the entire cast. Sumeet Raghavan is exceptionally expressive as Ajay’s close buddy. Divya Dutta and Karan Khanna are pretty good. Needless to say, Kajol and Ajay Devgan play to perfection.

U Me aur Hum raises much above the candyfloss or campus romance regularly churned out in Bollywood. Watch this one for its matchless maturity!

Quelle: http://movies.indiatimes.com/moviereview/2946482.cms

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW BY HANUMANT BHANSALI

Auszug: (Filmbeschreibung nicht gepostet)

With U Me Aur Hum, no one is going to sulk till the very end of an engrossing narration. Ajay Devgan makes an impressive directorial debut with his first film.After a relatively dull 2007, bravo Ajay Devgan took the responsibility to uplift his production house (underwhich the last dumb buster release was Raju Chacha). Ajay Devgan has chosen a subject which has various expressions spread throughout the film.

The duo of Ajay Devgan ad Kajol work towards U Me Aur Hum to deliver one of their finest onscreen performances together till date.
...
While the first half is more about establishing the relationship and providing a soft start to the fresh lime story, the second half works towards making the viewer emotional and giving them jerks.

The story and the characters take their time to soak into your mindset and once they do, you start enjoying the film in their direction. Techinally, Aseem Bajaj’s cinematography is fantastic. He adds the required zing in the not-so-young love story. Screenplay by Sutanu Gupta, Akash Khurana and Robin Bhatt is high on quality altitude in the second half, when the movie reaches its peak.

Ajay Devgan, as a director too shows his prowess in handling the shots well, especially in the second half where even a slight mistake would have made things hammy. Likewise, the only drawback is the slowness of the script in the second half. The pace drops laterally which makes you feel the jitter at times. Ashwani Dheer’s philosophical dialogues work well.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s music is very average, uneffective once the movie is over.

Magical performances come from industry’s topline actors Ajay Devgan and Kajol who excel in their roles respectively. Sumeet Raghavan too is very good. Divya Dutta, Karan Khanna and Isha Shravani are average. Sachin Khedekar has little scope to be effective.

On the whole, U Me Aur Hum has the magnitude to excel in terms of box office collections. Watch for a new director making his wife groove into a convincingly different role.

Radiosargam Movie Rating: 7/10

Quelle: http://www.radiosargam.com/films/archive...hum-2008-2.html

Posted On Saturday, April 12, 2008

Rating: 3,5/5

This is the age of creative adaptation. Ideas are few. People with ideas and talent to experience and reflect life, fewer still. We reflect films instead. Let's unapologetically admit this; pay up for the inspiration; and move on. The flip-side bothers me more. I don't refer here to a debate on plagiarism.

Anybody who calls Devgan's directorial debut entirely a knock-off of Nick Cassavetes's The Notebook should be asked which of the two films he hasn't seen. As it were, therein really lies the common problem. That is, when a filmmaker finds a material too compelling to resist an adaptation, he tries so hard to camouflage the original source that the final picture remains neither here nor there.

"I am nothing special, of this I'm sure. I am a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul. And to me, this has always been enough." So starts The Notebook, an idealistic, over-sentimental movie, and Nicholas Sparks' novel the film is based on. It speaks of a common man's love for a woman he possesses, despite pressures of time and money. A love he endures through the proverbial thick and thin (and illness). The girl in her later years suffers from amnesia. So does Kajol's character here.

Yet, The Notebook was essentially Hollywood's 'Maine Pyar Kiya' with characters interchanged (or it could've been any of '80s Bollywood): poor boy; rich girl; snob parents.

There is no such conflict here. In fact there is no conflict at all. Unless a boy looking up and acting on a girl's favourite things from her personal diary is the reason to spend over an hour in a theatre, by way of: Will she forgive him or not. Of course she will. For most parts, Devgan introduces instead two other yappy couples, such cardboard characters; you would never care why one is unhappily married, and the other happily unmarried. It is never explained. But that's another matter.

At some point you realise then the story is about tribulations of love when you have to live with someone who can't even recognise you anymore. Would you leave her for a better life, or live with her for the bitter love. Unfortunately Devgan has little patience to grab you by the eyeballs with this engaging dilemma for too long. This film only starts at the intermission, after you've spent half your time and ticket-bucks on tirelessly boring, joyless, humourless banter. It goes to several other inane places thereafter as well.

A simple film that's taken seriously is still a commercial sin, when you second-guess audiences this much (an odd Taare Zameen Par or Black isn't going to change that). So going back to where we began from. This is neither a 'weepy' for a heart-bleeding romantic; nor an immensely breezy thing to include dating collegians, mall-rats and middle-finger cynics. It fails wholly because it tries to be both. It works in parts for the central actors alone.

Despite a sketchily scribbled role, Kajol remains a picture of poise and expected charm. Devgan gives to his audience a controlled performance, and himself a role, that directors in this city have hardly trusted him with lately. His last few outings, besides Halla Bol, read Sunday, Cash, Ramgopal Varma Ki Aag.

As a filmmaker again, there is little to doubt his inclination towards the big show. While most of the film is shot indoors, the sweeping camerawork (Aseem Bajaj) is the first thing you notice still. Bajaj, an expert hand with the interiors (Chameli) evidently adores the zoom. But for Ramu's movies, I've yet to see that many tight-shots fill up frames of a film, when a subtly quiet, long-shot could've helped with the poignant. These are moments (not unique) when cinematography, though sparkling, draws attention to itself. This is also a very minor issue on a screenplay that draws so much attention away from the film itself.

Quelle: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper....4443333c3c6dc23

Ein etwas anderes Review und Mr. Tagore gehört ganz sicher zu der SRK-Kajol-Fangemeinde! Aber trotzdem finde ich es ausgesprochen interessant, deshalb auch mein Post.

Ah, ha!! Don’t judge my review by just reading the heading. The film works for me, in pockets. There are brave moments, good direction moments, absolutely fine acting by one of the actors, a brave screen-play, beautiful love story (I will explain why I stated this). So then why the ‘hhhmmm’ you ask? Read on. I’ll take a bow as I let you in to read my humble review.

SPOILER ANFANG
Reel Life
The story of a rich yuppie doctor and his rich friends on an ‘expensive’ cruise liner. Dr Ajay being the only single person in the gang, he obviously gets chosen by cupid and vola, he’s in love with a girl that serves him his drinks. This is real love folks (Bollywood style 100%). He learns about her dreams and her liking and declares then, that he has the same. He learns Salsa all night long, just so that he can teach the girl salsa at dawn. However at the one chance that he gets to Salsa with her, eh…he doesn’t really Salsa with her, instead he watches from the side-lines and cheers her on (no, no. There is no significance of this to the film, except it happens because our actor ‘Ajay Devgan’ cannot really set the dance floor on fire can he?). Anyway they fall in love, clear a misunderstanding and there you have it. They get married. Just before the intermission, there is a moment, where the husband nearly drives into his wife in the pouring rain and could have knocked her over. Don’t worry that doesn’t happen. He brakes on time, but when he gets out of the car, she tells him something. She tells him that she’s lost, that she couldn’t remember where they lived; she couldn’t remember his mobile number and even his name. A moment very well enacted by Kajol. Ok, then we come to the other half which really splashes a beautiful love story showcasing how much the husband does to keep alive the relationship and promises that he made to his wife, when she was in perfect health. There is an incident when an infant nearly dies due to this illness, but still the husband never lets go. It’s not all about him though, even the wife, in her moments of reality, realizes that she is a burden to her husband and child and wants to stay away from them, BUT, what really goes on is a story on how the marriage is held on to, about how the love is kept alive. Alas, though, we have to remember that this is a ‘non-daring’ Bollywood film, made by a veteran actor, so the climax is basically – well – all is well that ends well. Sob, Sob. Tears and tears.
SPOILER ENDE

Real Life
Firstly, the reason I said earlier on that this was a beautiful love story is exactly for this reason. Many of us have been brain-washed by our film makers to believe that the greatest love stories were when a boy met a girl and fought the world to win her over and eventually marry her – all bruised and all. Well wake up, there’s a love story after the marriage too, a love story wherein the biggest obstacles come from within the couple itself, due to illness or even to moments that are not really handled well. I really liked the love story that was showcased, when the couple were faced with challenges. I also liked the chemistry between the three guys who were friends all along. Yeah that’s really it, from a ‘real-life’ perspective. I would say, it’s a wonderful reminder to see how couples should stick it out as much as possible. It’s a matter of commitment, when you make a promise to be with each other forever, this is a nice reminder of what that means and how to never give up. I’m very big on friends and I really liked the chemistry between them. No matter what they were going thru, they were there always. I liked that. I wish upon you all good relationships, deeper commitments with your spouses and family. I also wish upon you all, good friends.

Cinematically
Ok, I was very disappointed with Ajay Devgan as the actor. He just isn’t convincing as a rich yuppie romantic, flamboyant, blah blah, call it what you want, that he was trying to be in the first half. Seriously. He was also looking a bit lost when he had to pull of being a romantic. Shame really, coz I expected a lot more chemistry between him and his real wife – Kajol. Now coming to Kajol, I cannot help but say that this woman is amazing. She is so natural. Man!! We used to compare the likes of Rani and Priety to this woman!! Wake up India, Kajol is in a league far ahead of many of the people in this industry. She pulls of those scenes, especially after interval with such ease and grace that you don’t even realize she is acting. Playing the love interest in the first half wasn’t that great by her too, I think because she didn’t have much to do in the first half and secondly the chemistry with Ajay just did not come across. Put it this way, unlike when he acts with SRK, you just didn’t feel like you wanted her to get hooked up with Ajay. Shame. The cinematography is good, the edits were good too. The screenplay is brave, because the way the flashback was done was quiet daring, i.e. you knew from the beginning who the film was about – watch it, you’ll know what I mean. I cannot remember a single tune from the film, neither did I enjoy the music when it was there on screen. Finally, as a first time director, Ajay needs a pat on the back. He has good potential as a director, though maybe he should realize that he should not act in a film, simply coz he is directing it. I would have loved to see Salman Khan in this film, doing the role that Ajay did. He would have made you laugh and fall in love in the first half and taken you on an emotional roller-coaster in the second half along with Kajol.

Finally
So the verdict? Yeah I mean do go and see it. It’s watchable. Go watch it for the love story AND for Kajol. Ok, I guess AND to see Ajay Devgan’s work as a director. If you watched it on DVD, that would be fine too. On the “Uncultured” scale, I’d say it’s a 5 or 6 out of 10. My opinion, my column – made with a lot of love, patience, pop-corn, diet coke and chocolates. Just for You, by Me and now that’s really HUM.

Quelle: http://www.radiosargam.com/films/archive...-by-tagore.html

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übersetzt von soulsurfer:

Aha! Beurteilt meine Review bloß nicht nach der Überschrift. Der Film funktioniert für mich - teilweise. Es gibt tolle Szenen, gute Regiemomente, super Leistungen eines der Schauspieler, ein tapferes Drehbuch, eine wundervolle Liebesgeschichte (warum ich das finde, erkläre ich noch). Warum dann das "hmmmm", werdet Ihr fragen? Lest weiter. Ich verbeuge mich und lasse Euch mit meiner bescheidenen Review allein.

SPOILER ANFANG
die Geschichte von einem Yuppiearzt und seinen reichen Freunden auf einer teuren Kreuzfahrt. Dr. Ajay ist der einzige Single in seiner Gruppe und wird offensichtlich von Amors Pfeil getroffen - er verliebt sich in das Mädchen, das ihm die Drinks serviert. Wahre Liebe, Leute! 100 Prozent Bollywoodstyle! Er erfährt von ihren Träumen und was sie mag und erklärt dann einfach, dass es bei ihn genauso ist. Er lernt die ganze Nacht das Salsatanzen, damit er ihr es im Morgengrauen beibringen kann. Aber als er dann endlich mit ihr tanzen könnte ... tanzt er nicht wirklich mit ihr, er steht eher auf der Seite und guckt ihr zu. (Nein, nein ... es kann doch nicht sein, dass das nur passiert weil unser Schauspieler "Ajay Devgan" nicht wirklich das Tanzbein schwingen kann, oder?) Jedenfalls verlieben die beiden sich, ein Missverständnis, so schaut´s aus. Sie heiraten. Vor der Intermission gibt es eine Szene, in der der Gatte seine Frau fast im strömenden Regen überfährt. Keine Sorge, nur fast! Er bremst rechtzeitig, aber als er aus dem Auto aussteigt, erzählt sie ihm etwas. Das sie sich verirrt hat. Das sie sich nicht mehr an ihre Adresse erinnern kann, geschweige denn, an seine Telefonnummer oder seinen Namen. Sehr gut gespielt von Kajol! Ok, jetzt kommen wir zur zweiten Hälfte, der wunderschönen Liebesgeschichte, die uns zeigt, wie der Ehemann die Beziehung aufrecht erhält und zu den Versprechen steht, die er seiner Frau gemacht hat, als sie noch völlig gesund war. Sogar als fast ihr Kind deswegen ums Leben kommt, ändert das für Ajay nichts. Aber es geht nicht nur um ihn. Sogar seine Frau sieht in ihren lichten Momenten, dass sie eine Last für Mann und Kind ist und will sie verlassen. ABER - was dann wirklich passiert, ist diese Geschichte, wie die Ehe weitergeführt und die Liebe am Leben gehalten wird. Nun, obwohl wir uns daran erinnern müssen, dass das kein durchschnittlicher Bollywoodfilm eines erfahrenen Schauspielers ist, ist das Ende - nun - ein gutes Ende. Schluchz, schluchz, heul, heul!
SPOILER ENDE

Die Wirklichkeit - Das ich den Film am Anfang eine wunderbare Liebesgeschichte genannt habe, war genau aus diesem Grund. Die Filmemacher versuchen uns sonst glauben zu machen, das es die tollsten Liebesgeschichten sind, wenn Mann und Frau sich treffen, die Welt davon überzeugen, dass sie zusammengehören und schließlich heiraten - Schwierigkeiten überwunden! Wacht auf! Es gibt auch eine Liebe nach der Hochzeit, eine Liebe, bei der größten Schwierigkeiten durch die beiden Partner entstehen, sei es wegen einer Krankheit, sei es wegen nicht überwundener anderer Probleme. Mir gefiel die Liebesgeschichte wirklich, als das Paar mit diesen ganzen Schwierigkeiten kämpfen musste. Ich mochte auch die Stimmung zwischen den drei Typen, die die ganze Zeit über Freunde blieben. Das macht es für mich aus - wirklichkeitsnah betrachtet. Ich würde sagen, es handelt sich bei dem Film um ein wunderbares Beispiel dafür, wie Paare um ihre Gemeinsamkeit kämpfen sollten. Es ist eine Verpflichtung, die man eingeht, wenn man einander verspricht, ein Leben lang zusammenzubleiben. Es ist ein wunderbares Beispiel dafür, was das bedeutet und was es heißt, nie aufzugeben. Freunde sind unheimlich wichtig für mich, und mir gefiel wirklich, wie die im Film miteinander umgingen. Was auch immer passierte, sie waren immer füreinander da. Ich mochte das. Ich wünsche euch allen gute Beziehungen, eine tiefe Bindung an eure Partner und an eure Familie. Und vor allem wünsche ich euch gute Freunde.

Filmtechnisch – Ok, ich war von Ajay Devgan sehr enttäuscht. Er ist einfacht nicht überzeugend als reicher romantischer schillernder - blah, blah - Yuppie. Nennt es wie ihr wollt, was er in der ersten Hälfte sein sollte. Wirklich! Er sah sogar ein bisschen verloren aus, als er den Romantiker mimen sollte. Furchtbar, ich habe wirklich von ihm und seiner Frau ein besseres Zusammenspiel erwartet. Jetzt zu Kajol. Ich kann nicht anders, diese Frau ist erstaunlich, so natürlich. Mann! Wir haben Rani und Preity mit ihr verglichen! Indien, wach auf! Kajol ist den anderen in dieser Branche meilenweit voraus. Sie spielt die Szenen nach der Pause mit solcher Leichtigkeit und Eleganz, dass du nicht mal merkst, dass sie schauspielert. Die Liebesszenen in der ersten Hälfte waren allerdings auch nicht ihre Stärke, ich denke, da hatte sie einfach zu wenig zu tun und die Chemie mit Ajay funktionierte nicht. Wahrscheinlich wollen wir einfach nicht - anders, als wenn sie mit SRK spielt -, dass sie mit Ajay zusammenkommt. Blöd!
Die Kameraarbeit und die Bildregie sind gut, das Drehbuch ordentlich. Vor allem die Rückblenden waren ziemlich anspruchsvoll - schaut den Film an, dann werdet ihr sehen, was ich meine. An die Musik kann ich mich überhaupt nicht erinnern, sie ist mir auch im Kino nicht ins Ohr gegangen.
Letztendlich verdient aber Ajay für sein Erstlingswerk ein Lob. Er hat gute Ansätze. Vielleicht sollte er aber einsehen, dass er nicht gleichzeitig spielen und Regie führen sollte. Mir hätte Salman Khan gut in Ajays Rolle gefallen. Er hätte dich mit ihm in der ersten Hälfte lachen und lieben lassen und dich in der zweiten mit Kajol auf eine emotionale Achterbahnfahrt genommen.

Zu guter Letzt - mein Urteil? Ja, geht rein und schaut ihn euch an. Er ist sehenswert. Wegen der Liebesgeschichte und wegen Kajol. Ok, und ich denke auch wegen Ajays Regiearbeit. Auf DVD wäre es ebenfalls in Ordnung. Auf meiner nicht kulturbelasteten Punktescale würde ich sagen: 5 oder 6 von 10 Punkten. Meine Meinung, meine Kolumne - geht mit einer Menge Liebe, Geduld, Popcorn, Cola Light und Schokolade.
Für Euch - von Mir - das sind Wir!

By Subhash K. Jha

'U, Me Aur Hum' is a tender, tactile melodrama
Ratings: ***1/2

Nothing that Ajay Devgan has done in the past prepares us for the poise, poignancy and sensitivity of his directorial debut. "U, Me Aur Hum" is one of those tender and tactile melodramas that leave you with minty thoughts and dewy eyes.

The heart is completely at the right place as Ajay, turning director with a élan that thumbs its nose gently at all those who scoff at his actioner's antecedents, tells the story of a husband whose gentle ministrations take his Alzheimer's stricken wife from her absentminded youth to blanked-out old age.

The journey gives us insights into the man-woman relationship and the intricate commitments of a marriage as seen through the eyes that go beyond the romance and excitement of courtship to an area where dark clouds gather over a relationship and threaten its annihilation.

The trick, says Ajay's soft but persuasive film, is to hold on, to value the things that make life worth living. There is an interesting reversal of the age-hold cinematic formula where the husband is looked after by the wife through rain and shine.

Ajay plays the caring husband who wins the feisty (if it's Kajol it cannot be any other way) waitress on a cruise that seems to go on and on and on.

Luckily, the narrative doesn't get 'see' sick. To be sure, the film could have avoided a prolonged courtship that tells us nothing more about life than what we don't already know in the first 15 minutes.

Ajay gets to the point halfway through. The narrative quickly comes to grips with the theme as the solemn doctor (Sachin Khadekar) announces the absent-mindedness, which has been stalking Pia for a while, is actually Alzheimer's.

The realisation of the gravity of the illness, coming to terms with it and finally recognizing the reality of an unshakeable love and faith beyond the obvious hardships of a troubled compatibility.... these are themes that are given a surprisingly low key treatment by the first-time director.

Ajay's directorial speciality is the interweavement of the characters through some wittily and cleverly written dialogues (Ashwin Dheer), which always tell us more than what we hear.

The film's substantial emotional impact depends entirely on the performances, not just Ajay and Kjaol but their two sets of friends - Sumeet Raghavan and Divya Dutta as the constantly quarrelling divorce bound couple, and Karan Khanna and Isha Sharwani as the soon to be wed couple.

Sumeet is a special revelation. He's quiet and attentive in scenes that require him to be that.

But of course the chemistry between the lead players guides the destiny of this remarkable film. Kajol's powerhouse performance, punctuated and italicised by moments where she hungrily sinks her teeth into emotional depths seldom afforded to commercial actors, comes as no surprise.

However, her makeup sometimes gives her a caked look. Never mind. This is a film where we can easily look beyond the mask.

Ajay bowls you over. To find him measuring up to his wife's dizzying histrionics is an amazing experience. Jim Broadbent looking after his Alzheimer's-stricken wife Judi Dench in "Iris" couldn't have done better.

SPOILER ANFANG
One sequence in the restaurant where Ajay is required to give a long, bitter and ironical monologue on man's innate selfishness after he leaves his wife at a care centre, will stand out among the sincerest expressions of the human ego seen in cinema.
SPOILER ENDE

Ajay's command over his craft and the language of heart take you by surprise.

SPOILER ANFANG
Some of the sequences showing Kajol's mental blanking-out are so vivid they make your hairs stand on end. That nerve wracking moment when the mother nearly ends up drowning her baby in the bath tub or that poignant interlude when the husband leaves his wife at the hospital are so wonderfully devised and executed you wonder which came first: the thought to make a film on Alzheimer's or the characters who inhabit this dark yet uplifting theme.
SPOILER ENDE

The film has its flaws. It sometimes tries too hard to be trendily philosophical in its dialogues and ends up sounding phoney.

The pseudo-philosophical lyrics for the songs sound like cheap rip-offs of Gulzar. Also, the narrative doesn't seem to follow the linear path.

The back-and-forth editing pyrotechnics where key incidents are recreated in flashy flashbacks are distracting. However, Aseem Bajaj's cinematography does much to create a smooth homogenous look and mood for the narrative.

The film takes us through a world of love pain and acceptance with such transparent honesty of purpose that at the end of it you only wonder one thing... why can't more movies be like "U, Me Aur Hum"?

Quelle: http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=47504

Mumbai, April 11, 2008

That touch of tenderness

Rating: ***

Get this. Whenever Kajol acts, she kills the competition. Of the current lot, no one quite compares. No one can hold a close-up like she does or leap straight out of the screen to involve you in her pleasure and pain.

She’s a natural and that quality is mined constantly by first time director Ajay Devgan in U Me aur Hum. Indeed, the direction is remarkably assured, especially in the emotional stretches. You may not connect with the cornball humour in the first-half, set on an ocean liner.

But auspiciously the post-intermission section grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let you go. The actor-producer-director, with cool persuasion, compels you to care for the couple, so made for each other, till..one day, she just forgot his name.

Two dramatic set pieces are particularly heart wrenching. One, the woman’s bout of hysteria at the Alzheimer patient’s care centre. And two, the time her husband – a psychiatrist by profession – talks his heart out in a drunken haze. At the end of the day, he states firmly, every individual is selfish, equipped with that self-defence mechanism. Rarely does cinema pause to lend an ear to such introspective asides nowadays.

On the downside, the initial half is inconsistent, expending far too much footage on the ocean liner kerfuffle. Start out then with Pia, a perky bar waitress (Kajol). Ajay (Devgan) is a besotted bachelor, but their geeky friends you itch to fling into the ocean. One couple bickers about marriage (excellently played though by Sumit Raghavan-Divya Dutta), another goes wink-wink-leer-leer-swim-and-salsa. It doesn’t help if both of them are as wooden as balsa.

Quite needlessly, silly smutty jokes are cracked. Narrated through a rather complicated web of flashbacks, your interest is rooted in the plot essentially when it deals with the Pia-Ajay, who may or may not be able to salvage their life together. Warm riffs include an evening party breaking into impromptu snatches of a Pakeezah song. Or Pia sashaying into a Sangam-like Buddha mil gaya seduction number. Sweet.

That elements have been borrowed from Hollywood’s The Notebook is apparent..but you’re relieved that the script is far from a slavish imitation. Consistently, Aseem Bajaj’s cinematography is in sync with the heartbeat of its beleaguered lead couple. And Rakesh Ranjan’s sound design is effective. Editing? Now that could have been infinitely tighter. What a rotund kid, glaring away menacingly amounts to, you don’t have the foggiest.

The Alzheimer’s angle remains vague. You’re not clued into the condition of Pia during the long years skipped between the flashbacks. It’s during a more general, cautionary interlude like Pia forgetting her child in the bath, that you’re shaken and stirred.

For its tear-drawing emotional content, a splendid performance by Kajol and Devgan’s fluid makeover from an actor of steel to a director of tenderness, you ultimately take U Me aur Hum home with you. Worth a cherish.

Quelle: Hindustantimes

April 21, 2008; By Debashine Thangevelo

Rating: *****

The thing that irks me about Bollywood filmmakers, aside from their utter laziness to come up with novel screenplays, is their audacity at passing off ideas that have been pilfered from a Hollywood film as their own. That they haven't been sued for copyright infringement as yet boggles the mind.

And Ajay Devgan, who turned first-time director with U Me Aur Hum, seems to subscribe to the same school of thought as everyone in the Hindi film industry, who believes that a film can't be tagged as a copy of a Hollywood movie if it is given a Bollywood-esque twist. In recent months, he has maintained over and over again that his latest romance, which he produced under his home banner Devgan Films, was basically an "original" idea that he extended into a script.

But with shades of The Notebook, Titanic and Priyasakhi popping up in U Me Aur Hum's storyline, calling the film imaginative would be terribly deceptive to moviegoers.

The romance, which is told in flashbacks by a much older Ajay (Devgan), takes place on a cruise liner where he has joined his friends: Nikhil (Raghavan) and Reena (Dutta), who are married, but their frequent fights leave them both miserable and unhappy, while an unmarried Vicky (Khanna) and his dancer girlfriend Natasha (Sharwani) enjoy a blissful courtship.

Ajay loves the freedom of being a bachelor until he runs into Pia (Kajol), a waitress on the cruise.

At first, Pia doesn't give Ajay the time of day, but, believing they share a lot in common, she eventually allows herself to fall in love with him. The holiday romance ends with Pia and Ajay tying the knot and that is when their problems begin - Ajay learns that Pia has early Alzheimer's. After the birth of their son, Pia's condition worsens and Ajay makes the heartbreaking decision to place her in an institution.

While the first half of the film has an agreeable smattering of hilarity, it falls apart after the interval. I am not entirely sure whether the disjointed feel is a ramification of shoddy editing or a weak narrative.

Devgan botched his attempts to shed light on different relationships as the characters weren't given the scope or screen time that the roles demanded.

Also, the latter portions of the film are weighed down due to gratuitous overdramatic scenes. Devgan obviously didn't get the memo that weeping is Shah Rukh Khan's forté, not his.

While Kajol is engaging as an unstable character, it simply isn't enough to keep the audience immersed in the romance.

U Me Aur Hum was meant to be a sweeping tale of love and sacrifice, but Devgan failed to have his vision satisfactorily immortalised on celluloid.

If you liked…Om Shanti Om, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Jaan-E-Mann: Let's Fall In Love…Again … you should enjoy this.

Quelle: http://www.tonight.co.za/index.php?fArti...=429&fSetId=251

Starting off as the kind of rom-com fluff that would normally star, say, Jennifer Aniston or Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Indian musical U Me aur Hum shifts gears right before intermission to become another, better movie that explores what happens with the couple after the happily-ever-after ending—in this case, in the wake of a tragic, life-altering accident. Not surprisingly, this directorial debut by one-time action star Ajay Devgan is light on the big musical numbers for which Bollywood is known, and though repetitively talky in the first half, shows an accomplished eye for visuals and a confident hand for narrative.

In a crowded, casual restaurant, a twenty-something guy (Aditya Rajput) smitten with a young woman (Hazel Croney) makes a half-serious bet with his dad (Devgan) over who can pick up a chick. The son chooses for his father an attractive middle-aged woman (Devgan's real-life wife, Kajol Devgan, née Mukherjee, known as simply Kajol in most of her films till now), and dad does his stuff. After a couple of old gents at the next table (Mukesh Tiwari, Sachin Khedekar) ensure that the hesitant woman isn't being harassed by this Lothario, they and eventually others get as sucked in as she is to the love story the man begins to relate.

On a cruise ship 25 years ago, single psychiatrist Ajay Mehra fell in love at first sight with cocktail waitress Piya. (The present-day couple, in their mind's eyes, render the story-couple as looking like them, only younger.) Declaring his undying love, Ajay makes a drunken fool of himself with the warm yet needling "help" of his friends: bickering married doctor-couple Reena (Divya Dutta) and Nikhil (Sumeet Raghavan), and hot young unmarrieds Natasha (Isha Sharvani) and Vicky (Karan Khanna)—the latter a guy's name in Hindi. Piya, though amused at Ajay's antics, wants nothing to do with the fool. A determined Ajay, however, slips into her room, reads her hope-and-dreams scrapbook, and suddenly Piya is discovering that this guy loves salsa dancing and big white dogs and chocolate-liquor candy just like she does. But when Ajay grows too guilt-stricken to keep up the charade, and confesses to her, boy loses girl.

Boy eventually gets girl—it's a romantic comedy, after all, or is it?—and months later the two are married. And then…well, without giving spoilers, it's safe to say that just before intermission, the couple's storybook life takes a tragic turn. No, she doesn't break her neck. But it's something that tests the limits of love, endurance, self-deception, denial and, unexpectedly, the power of surrogate-family friendship. One cocktail-party scene at the Mehra home, with a devastating monologue by Piya, is so sad and brilliant it's shocking.

So is, more prosaically, the fact that the movie is perfectly well subtitled except for the song lyrics—which are inexplicably rendered in Hindi. It's hard to tell how good the songs are as a result; only a couple have catchy music, and except for the nicely done salsa number and some moments in a late wedding scene, the choreography is unexceptional.

No matter. Unlike the broadly played comedy and melodrama that is the Bollywood style, the latter part of U Me aur Hum (“You Me and Us") is an emotionally affecting tragedy wonderfully acted by Western standards, and which earns the positive ending that lets you walk out of the theatre wiser but not sadder.

Critic: Frank Lovece

Quelle: http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/s...t_id=1003790116

Posted by Narayanan Aier; April 10, 2008

If there is any actor who can probably match Aamir Khan with his directorial skills, it has got to be Ajay Devgan. He has done a fantastic job with U Me Aur Hum.

The way he has gone about directing and acting is amazing.

That’s what Kajol said in an interview few months back. And every word of that is true. When I read that interview, I felt that she is just promoting her film. How wrong I was!

This movie describes a journey of life between two individuals deeply in love with each other. Piya (Kajol) is a waitress in a cruise liner when she is wooed by Ajay (Ajay Devgan) who is holidaying in the cruise along with his group of friends. Eventually they get married. Piya is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the same time when the doctors realize that she is pregnant. What follows is a really moving and open portrayal of Piya and Ajay’s sufferings and how they make it through.

Kajol has probably given her best performance till date. When she gets the memory loss attacks, a chill runs down your spine. You hope that no one ever suffers from this. That’s how well she’s essayed the role. Ajay Devgan is in his usual best. But where he scores is his direction. Although the plot might be similar to the 2004 movie ‘The Notebook’ (directed by Nick Cassavetes), Devgan has made it more realistic by adding his flavor of sensibility (Yes, for a change a Hollywood movie was more filmy!). No unnecessary twists and no unnecessary dance and song sequences. A welcome relief from the string of average films that the Mumbai film industry has been throwing at as for the past few months.

The rest of the cast which includes prominent actors like Sachin Khedekar, Sumeet Raghvan, Divya Dutta, Karan Khanna and Isha Shervani have done exceptionally well. The music by Vishal Bharadwaj blends beautifully into the movie.

On a scale of 1 to 5 I would give it 4.5. In short, do go and watch the movie.

Quelle: http://dreamyworld.wordpress.com/2008/04...w-u-me-aur-hum/

By Joginder Tuteja, June 30, 2008 - 17:56 IST

MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Karan Khanna, Isha Sharwani, Sumeet Raghavan, Divya Dutta, Sachin Khedekar
Director: Ajay Devgan
Producer: Ajay Devgan
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyrics: Munna Dhiman

THE FILM

Sensitive - now that's the key word which describes U Me Aur Hum in one word.

For his debut directorial outing, Ajay Devgan could have conveniently opted for an action/drama genre. And why not? After all he would have been in his home territory when attempting a genre which he has excelled in his decade and a half long career. Alternatively, a comedy could have worked too! After all comedy season is in its full bloom and Devgan himself has enjoyed quite a few comic outings in the recent past.

But he chose a sensitive tale to tell. A tale which started off as a romantic comedy (though with a difference), moved on to be marital outing and eventually turned out to be much above all of this. U Me Aur Hum picked up the theme of 'what would you do if you realized that your partner would never ever be the same person that you fell in love with'? That your partner may cease to be the same person as before with you emotionally and mentally? That every day out there with your spouse would be living a new life where the only certain thing would be 'uncertainty'?

With such ideas in mind where a love story stood for life long togetherness regardless of hurdles which may come a couple's way, Ajay Devgan made U Me Aur Hum where he came up with yet another emotionally charged performance. Ditto for Kajol who makes audience miss her every time she comes on screen because you want to see her more often. And even though the film had Alzheimer's disease as the focal point in it's second half, it didn't take a depressing route due to strong emotional moments being embellished in the narrative.

So what doesn't work? The remaining two couples in the film (Sumeet-Divya and Karan-Isha) who seem to have been given far too prominence than what the plot required. Though Karan-Isha track is still ok, the one involving Divya truly gets on your nerves after some point of time. The constant bickering between Sumeet and Divya looks so forced into the narrative that you start longing for Ajay-Kajol to come back on screen.

However, Ajay Devgan does well in making sure that overall U Me Aur Hum keeps the momentum on and doesn't get off the hook too often. In fact, the second half of the film is truly brilliant as Kajol's constant memory decline is narrated exceedingly well. The scene where the infant child drowns in the bath tub is the pick of the lot which shows that Ajay indeed has a flair for getting the right dramatic quotient on screen. But the best is reserved for the end as the film's culmination is truly convincing and heart warming that won't leave a single moist eye!

PACKAGING

Amongst all the Hindi film DVDs released this year, U Me Aur Hum would find a place amongst one of the best packaged DVDs. Arriving in a matted jacket with a cool cover design, U Me Aur Hum DVD is truly designed as the one you would want to gift to the one you love!

DURATION

The film comes in two DVD pack with the film's duration being 162 minutes and special features in the additional DVD lasting close to an hour.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The DVD comes with following Special Features:

- Making of the film
- Making of the songs
- The flying cam
- Music launch
- Trailers

Special features DVD is an engaging watch as one gets to see a lot of on-the-sets footage. The segment around making of the film and the songs tell everything about how the idea behind making U Me Aur Hum was generated, how the title was short listed, how it was for Ajay to make a transition to a director amongst others interesting factoids. Moreover, the thought behind choreographing a particular song or shooting a scene is also told in an interesting manner.

There is an entire segment around the use of a flying cam which, in words of cinematographer Aseem Bajaj, is just like a miniature helicopter. Watch out for the way this flying cam went about taking one of the most stunning shots in the film!

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo

PRICE

Rs. 299/=

CONCLUSION

One still wonders why U Me Aur Hum didn't turn out to be as huge a success as it should have? Yes, the film was a success but it's theatrical business didn't quite scale the heights it deserved if one looks at the quality of work that Ajay Devgan got for his debut directorial venture. However, with the release of the DVD, one can be almost sure that those who had missed out on watching this sensitive tale would finally be catching it in the comfort of their living room.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Quelle: http://indiafm.com/movies/dvdreview/13577/index.html