Ajay Devgan turns director with U Me Aur Hum, making an impressive debut with a touching tale of love that proudly celebrates this most profound of human emotions in a story that is both tender and extremely moving. Devgan not only plots the emotional graph of his film with great sensitivity and care, but adds a masterly touch when he rounds it off with an emotionally satisfying end. Unlike many a Hindi romancer which gets off to an impressive start and then blunders its way to the end, Devgan reveals his command over the all essential element of drama and keeps the viewer hooked right to the denouement. The result is a film which says all that it wants to, and says it very well indeed!
The film kicks off in a very quiet, natural fashion as the director shrewdly unfolds the plot. The appearance of Kajol and Devgan in the very first scene itself and their interaction is the perfect precursor of what lies ahead as it manages to conceal just as much as it reveals. It is not often that a film makes one think about what will happen next but Devgan manages just that with U Me Aur Hum. In fact, the refreshing thing about the film is that it tends to pleasantly surprise one in a lot of little ways, and it is not just a conventional love story with a predictable chain of events, a trap which a lot of Indian films often fall into.
With a powerhouse performer like Kajol and an intense actor like Devgan, the film's drama is lifted a couple of notches higher with their sheer presence and performance. The Kajol Devgan combo has never looked and felt as magical as it does in this film. Their scenes together carry a different kind of sizzle. And it's not just a sexual chemistry that we are talking about, but a simmering, muted emotional connect which often translates into tenderness. One is sure that their extreme comfort level with each other contributes a great deal to it. Their screen presence as lovers in the film carries all the excitement, joy and tenderness of love, untouched by any kind of jadedness. Kajol and Devgan are the soul of the film and they fulfill their roles with ease and naturalness.
Even though both are very different kinds of actors, with Kajol being the more spontaneous of the two, both their styles complement each other perfectly. U Me Aur Hum is probably one of Kajol's best roles to date. It is a role which is almost tailor made for her, yet allowing room for her to stretch herself as a performer. Kajol's talent has never been in doubt but somehow one has seen more of the effervescent and lighter side of her. U Me Aur Hum allows the actress in her to give a more mature and restrained performance.
But the film really belongs to Devgan, whose character in the film that of a psychiatrist goes through the most painful of trials and tribulations to finally emerge a true winner. He carries the different shades of his character with ease, emoting even more with his silence than most other actors.
The film's story, in short, is the story of the love between Ajay and Pia, who meet aboard a cruise liner. Pia is part of the staff while Ajay is a passenger. He is on the cruise along with his two friends, one who is unhappily married while the other is dying to get married. Ajay is a carefree, fun loving man, till he spots Pia and falls head over heels in love. It is not an emotion which is immediately reciprocated by Pia, but in time she falls for Ajay's charm. They marry, apparently set for a happily ever after future, till life deals them a blow, one which challenges all of Ajay's notions of love. In contrast to Ajay and Pia's love is the bitterness that exists between Ajay's friend (played by Sumit Raghavan) and his wife (played by Divya Dutta). This couple finally make it back into each other's arms but not before a lot of angst and dirty linen washed in public. The only weak link, one feels, is their love story. Even the third couple's love story seems quite artificial, when seen alongside the very "real' love story of Ajay and Pia. While Raghavan is impressive, Dutta unfortunately does not have much to do in the film, nor does the other couple played by Karan Khanna and Isha Sharvani.
The cinematography of U Me Aur Hum is very impressive, using the seascape vividly. The film's music, composed by Vishal Bharadwaj, is rendered more appealing when one is able to "see' the songs, as compared to merely hearing them before the viewing experience. However, the most touching track is the title number.
U Me Aur Hum proves Ajay Devgan's credentials as an intelligent, unpretentious director, who knows how to carry his audience along with him. His sense of drama is definitely in the right place and there is little one can find fault with in his directorial debut venture. Handling the role at the directorial helm as well as in front of the camera is a difficult task, pulled off by only a few like Mel Gibson in Hollywood or Aamir Khan back home, and Devgan joins this elite club.
We are crazy 4 U Me Aur Hum, WATCH IT!
