U Me Aur Hum

U Me Aur Hum (You, Me and Us) is a 2008 Indian romantic drama film produced and directed by Ajay Devgn under Ajay Devgn Films and Eros International. The film, Devgn's first as a director, stars him alongside his wife Kajol in their seventh film together. Karan Khanna, Isha Sharvani, Sumeet Raghavan and Divya Dutta also star in the film. Written by Devgn himself and three other writers, the film was released on 11 April 2008 in around 450 cinemas (with 150 of them being digital screens).[2] The film bears resemblance to the 2004 film, The Notebook.[3]

U Me Aur Hum
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAjay Devgn
Produced byAjay Devgn
Written byAshwni Dhir
(Dialogue)
Screenplay byAjay Devgn
Sutanu Gupta
Akash Khurana
Robin Bhatt
Ashwni Dhir
Story byAjay Devgn
StarringAjay Devgn
Kajol
Music bySongs:
Vishal Bhardwaj
Background Score:
Monty Sharma
CinematographyAseem Bajaj
Edited byDharmendra Sharma
Production
company
Distributed byEros International
Release date
  • 11 April 2008 (2008-04-11)
Running time
157 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹250 million[1]
Box office₹400 million[1]

Plot

The movie starts with Ajay (Ajay Devgn) telling his son that he should make his move on a girl he likes. The son tells him that if he can go woo another older lady, he will tell the girl he likes about his feelings. Ajay goes to the woman and starts telling her a story. Gradually, everyone around them starts listening and the scene goes to a flashback 25 years before. A younger Ajay is on a cruise with four of his friends. Nikhil (Sumeet Raghavan) and Reena (Divya Dutta), an unhappily married couple whilst Vicky (Karan Khanna) and Natasha (Isha Sharvani) are a happily unmarried couple. On the cruise, Ajay meets Piya (Kajol) at the ship's bar and falls in love with her.

While he is intoxicated, he buys drinks for everyone at the bar. Then there is a song, then Ajay blacks out. In the morning, Piya goes to deliver the bill to Bar guy and Ajay says he is still in love with her. Now Ajay is head over heels in love with Piya, but she won't accept him. He wants her by hook or by crook, even peeking into a private journal, so he dances his way into her heart by learning that she has always wanted to learn how to dance. He takes lessons from his friend and gives Piya lessons. The two finally fall in love. But then later, Piya finds out that he looked in her private journal and she yells at him. He leaves but leaves her his number in case she changes her mind.

While at their new home, at an early hour in the morning, Ajay calls his friends to come to his house. While driving there, we see how Ajay has tried to win Piya back by getting her favourite dog (even though he hates them) and other things. When they go inside, they find Piya and Ajay, getting married. They are all surprised and delighted. Ajay and Piya love each other, and they soon start a wish list, which they write on their bedroom wall. The first wish is to go on a cruise on their 25th anniversary. But after a few months, Piya goes out for shopping but forgets everything, including where she lives. When she is screaming for help in the middle of the road in the rain, Ajay finds her and tells her their house was right in front of her. They go to the doctor's and Ajay finds out Piya has Alzheimer's and that she is pregnant. The problem is, pregnancy only exacerbates her Alzheimer's. So, while Piya is pregnant, Ajay must keep a close eye on her or else Piya might hurt the baby. As time goes on, the baby is born, and Piya's condition worsens. Finally, Ajay has no choice but to put Piya in a home for people with problems. Ajay is hurt, but he doesn't know what to do. Meanwhile, Nikhil and Reena have learned to love again and tell Ajay to go get her back. Suddenly, Ajay realises what he has done, and runs back to the home and wins Piya's heart back.

The story ends with Ajay saying that the best thing he had ever done was bringing Piya back home. He says that it is a special day when she can remember things, and bonus days when she remembers him. The elderly woman to whom Ajay was telling the story remarks, "Well, this is your bonus day." It turns out that the elderly woman is Piya, and she and Ajay are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on a cruise with their son, just what they had wished for.

Cast

Production

The film was launched with a mahurat ceremony at Manoranjan Studio in Andheri on 2 May 2007 by the actors Ajay Devgn and Kajol.[4] The film was shot on a cruise liner from 5 to 25 May and later at the Filmistan Studio in Mumbai.[4]

On 6 April 2008, Member of Parliament Ravi Shankar Prasad arranged a special screening of the film for the former critic turned politician L.K. Advani and his wife. After watching the film, Advani gave it a standing ovation when the credits were rolled. The screening was also attended by the politician Sushma Swaraj and the cast.[5]

Reception

The film opened to an average response of 40-50% at several places but due to good reports, the collections got better as the day progressed in the multiplexes of big cities. The late shows were reported to have collections of over 60%.[6][7]

Critics' reviews towards the movie were mostly positive, with Taran Adarsh giving the film 4 out of 5 stars and describing it as "a well-made, absorbing love story that's high on the emotional quotient".[8] The performances by the lead pair were also praised. Taran Adarsh further commented, "U, Me aur Hum is like a medal that glimmers on Ajay Devgn's body of work. He's exceptional! Kajol, well, what can you say of an actress who has proved herself time and again? That she's undoubtedly the best has been proved yet again."[8] Raja Sen noted, "Kajol raises the bar strikingly high... And Devgn...[delivers] an intense acting job."[9]

Devgn's direction received favourable reviews as well. Raja Sen further noted, "Ajay Devgan's first is an impressive directorial debut that starts abruptly but gathers force as it goes along, ending up finding its own voice [as] a powerful romantic drama."[9] Despite getting good reviews for its performances and direction, the film was also criticised for its screenplay and length. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN wrote, "Devgn's directorial debut...is let down by a sloppy, slapdash screenplay" whilst Joginder Tuteja from indiaglitz.com wrote, "On the whole, U, Me aur Hum gets a little dragging primarily in the first half and is a little loose on its screenplay."[10]

After ten days, the film collected a total of Rs. 712 million worldwide.[11]

Awards

Music
U, Me aur Hum
Studio album by
Vishal Bhardwaj
Released
16 February 2008 (India)
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Label
ProducerAjay Devgn
Vishal Bhardwaj chronology
No Smoking
(2007)		 U, Me aur Hum
(2008)		 Kaminey
(2009)

The film's soundtrack was released on 16 February 2008 by the composer Vishal Bhardwaj, lyricist Munna Dhiman, and actors Ajay Devgn and Kajol. Critics were mostly positive towards the film's soundtrack. IndiaFM gave the film's soundtrack 3½ out of 5 stars and noted, "U Me Aur Hum is as much as Vishal Bhardwaj’s album as Munna Dhiman's. The lyricist had big boots to fill while coming in place of Gulzar Saab but he doesn't disappoint even one bit. On the other hand, singers like Adnan Sami, Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan deliver their best to come out of their comfort zone and do something different for a soundtrack which breaks away from the stereotype and brings in a fresh sound."[12]

SongSinger(s)DurationNotes
"Jee Le" Adnan Sami & Shreya Ghoshal 5:09 Picturised on Ajay Devgn & Kajol
"U Me Aur Hum" Shreya Ghoshal 6:38
"Saiyaan" Sunidhi Chauhan 3:54 Picturised on Ajay Devgn & Kajol
"Phatte" Adnan Sami & Sunidhi Chauhan 5:30 Picturised on Ajay Devgn & Kajol
"Dil Dhakda Hai" Adnan Sami & Shreya Ghoshal 4:04 Picturised on Ajay Devgn & Kajol
"U Me Aur Hum" - Part 2 Vishal Bhardwaj 4:05 Picturised on Ajay Devgn & Kajol
gollark: Magmæ?
gollark: I could probably do an IOU if you wanted.
gollark: It is the Law of the Cave: one only sees what one does not want.
gollark: I do at least run into several an hour just sitting there.
gollark: Well, not really.

See also

References
  1. "U Me Aur Hum - Movie - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com.
  2. "Krazzy 4 Has a Big Release". U, Me aur Hum releases around 450 cinemas. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  3. "Masand's Verdict: U, Me Aur Hum | Krazzy 4".
  4. "Ajay Devgan turns director". Devgan's debut film launched at Manoranjan Studios. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  5. "L.K. Advani gives standing ovation to U Me Aur Hum". Special screening of U, Me aur Hum held. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  6. "Krazzy 4 Opens Well, U Me Aur Hum Poor". U, Me aur Hum opens to poor response but picks up. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  7. "B.O. Update: Response to two diverse releases". U, Me aur Hum picks up collections due to good reports. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  8. "Movie Review: U, Me aur Hum". Devgan's debut film earns good reviews. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  9. "Ajay Devgan does well in U Me Aur Hum". Devgan's debut film is well-received. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  10. "U, Me aur Hum: Movie Review". Devgan's debut film criticized for screenplay. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  11. "U, Me Aur Hum grosses Rs 410 mn worldwide in 10 days". U, Me aur Hum doing well. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  12. "Music Review: U, Me aur Hum". U, Me aur Hum's soundtrack releases to positive reviews from critics. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
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