| U Me Aur Hum | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ajay Devgn |
| Produced by | Ajay Devgn |
| Screenplay by | Sutanu Gupta Akash Khurana Robin Bhatt |
| Story by | Ajay Devgn Akash Khurana Robin Bhatt Sutanu Gupta |
| Starring | Ajay Devgn Kajol |
| Music by | Vishal Bharadwaj |
| Cinematography | Aseem Bajaj |
| Editing by | Dharmendra Sharma |
| Distributed by | Ajay Devgn Films Eros Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | April 11, 2008 |
| Running time | 157 min |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | Rs 25 crore |
| Box office | Rs. 41.29 crores |
U Me Aur Hum (translates as: You, me and us) is a 2008 Bollywood film directed and produced by Ajay Devgan under Ajay Devgn Films and Eros Entertainment. The film, which marks Devgan's debut 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 Devgan himself and three other writers, the film was released on 11 April 2008 in around 450 cinemas (with 150 of them being digital screens).[1]
Contents |
The movie starts with Ajay (Ajay Devgan) telling a boy that he should make his move on a girl he likes. The boy (who is his 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 then we go to a flashback 25 years ago... 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 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 will change 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 Reema have learned to love again, and tell Ajay to go get her back. Suddenly, Ajay realizes 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...
The film was launched with a mahurat ceremony at Manoranjan Studio, Andheri on 2 May 2007 by actors Ajay Devgan and Kajol.[2] The cast shot the film on a cruise liner from May 5 to May 25 and later continued shooting at the Filmistan Studios in Mumbai.[2]
On 6 April 2008, Member of Parliament, Ravi Shankar Prasad arranged a special screening of the film for 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 politician Sushma Swaraj and the cast of the film.[3]
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%.[4][5]
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".[6] 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 Devgan'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."[6] Raja Sen noted, "Kajol raises the bar strikingly high... And Devgan...[delivers] an intense acting job."[7]
Devgan'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."[7] Despite getting good reviews for its performances and direction, the film was also criticized for its screenplay and length. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN wrote, "Devgan'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."[8]
After ten days, the film collected a total of Rs. 410 Million (41 Crore) worldwide.[9]
| U, Me aur Hum | ||||
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| Studio album by Vishal Bharadwaj | ||||
| Released |
16 February 2008 (India)
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| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label |
Eros Music
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| Producer | Ajay Devgan | |||
| Vishal Bharadwaj chronology | ||||
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The film's soundtrack was released on 16 February 2008 by composer Vishal Bharadwaj, lyricist Munna Dhiman, and actors Ajay Devgan and Kajol. Critics were mostly positive towards the film's soundtrack. IndiaFM gave the film's soundtrack 3 ½ 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."[10]
| Song | Singer(s) | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jee Le | Adnan Sami & Shreya Ghoshal | 5:09 | Picturised on Ajay Devgan & Kajol |
| U Me Aur Hum | Shreya Ghoshal | 6:38 | |
| Saiyaan | Sunidhi Chauhan | 3:54 | Picturised on Ajay Devgan & Kajol |
| Phatte | Adnan Sami & Sunidhi Chauhan | 5:30 | Picturised on Ajay Devgan & Kajol |
| Dil Dhakda Hai | Adnan Sami & Shreya Ghoshal | 4:04 | Picturised on Ajay Devgan & Kajol |
| U Me Aur Hum - Part 2 | Vishal Bharadwaj | 4:05 | Picturised on Ajay Devgan & Kajol |