It?s a general rule of thumb that the amount of excitement or pleasure derived out of watching a movie is inversely proportional to the expectation one has from it. It?s not often that a movie comes along with a good amount of expectation and hype riding on its back, and yet manages to deliver!
’HUM TUM’ falls in this category. And its just a mushy tale of two people getting together. Now, isn’t that something?
I rented this movie after following the cartoon series on ?The Times of India?. I had also been warned that it was an adaptation of ?When Harry met Sally? (Rob Reiner?s classic starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan). I use the word ?adaptation? very carefully here. There are other ?adaptations? that hit the screen this year, the most notable of them being ?Murder? which was more of a straight lift from ?Unfaithful? with a little clichéd masala added. But ?Hum Tum? is not that much of a lift or an imitation.
The story is anybody?s guess. You pretty much know that Saif and Rani are inevitably getting together in the end. In spite of this, the movie holds your attention and manages to make you care about them as they live their lives. Post ?Dil Chahta Hai?, Saif has brought about a sense of believability to his characters and his is right on target here. Rani has successfully been directed by Kamalhassan and Maniratnam and that counts for something. She is at ease with every action, every dialogue and is a treat to watch.
However, towards the end of the movie, your patience is tested a little bit. But all?s well that ends well and Kunal Kohli wraps everything up before you totally lose it.
The music of the movie was above average (Jatin-Lalit) with a few hummable tunes. But I absolutely loved one song on the album which was not by the duo. The U ?n? I track by Rishie Rish is apt for the superb title sequence.
All said and done, this is not a ?perfect? flick. Kirron Kher is inconsistent as Rani?s mom. You adore her at times, but she gets on your nerves a few times. Rishi Kapoor manages to bring in some clichés while trying to be different. Rathi Agnihotri was just adequate, nothing special. I thought that the entire supporting cast did not lend the sense of believability that the lead pair did.
(Warning! Spoiler ahead!)
There is also this one particular scene that I thought could have been written better. All through the movie, we see Saif and Rani as people with Indian sensibilities. All it took for them to make love was one rainy evening?! Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal did the same thing in the original, but they had their reasons and it wasn?t such a big deal for them after all. Maybe it was a scene that Kunal Kohli liked a lot, and didn?t want to leave out. Maybe he could have shown them kissing?! Maybe that would have looked more possible and plausible. Maybe!