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A flick worth watching

Kajol and Ajay Devagan in ‘U, Me Aur Hum’

Film: You, Me Aur Hum ( Hindi)

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Kajol

Direction: Ajay Devgan

An actor worthy of emulation, Ajay Devgan takes early steps in his directorial career with a film that looks good, feels good. He brings an actor’s experience to a director’s enthusiasm as he pieces together a film that packs in some lovely moments, some aesthetically beautiful ones, and some which allow your mind to wander. In short, a film that is good but leaves you with a feeling that it could have been better. Maybe, some day, Devgan will be more assured as a director. Maybe, someday he would place his thinking actor’s hat on the director, and maybe another day he would get better returns from his editor, his music director, his lyricist. Yes, “You, me aur Hum” could have been more tightly edited, it could have done with a more pulsating music score. And a little less obsession with the camera by the director, still very much an actor.

But then it never pays to look at the half empty glass. The film could have been worse too. After all, how many Hindi film directors have shown the requisite restraint when talking of any dreaded disease, as in Alzheimer’s? The tendency is always to go overboard, pack in stuff for the tear ducts to run overtime. Bollywood is often guilty of melodrama when talking of serious ailments. Or worse, mocking the condition. Not so Devgan, who mostly uses subtleties to carry the story forward. And only towards the end, does he state the obvious. In fact, as some would say, he is too slow, too subtle for the large part. The film takes more than a while to evolve as Devgan the actor woos Kajol the actress over a cup of coffee. Or was it, tea? Immaterial. Now a shade past their prime, they look soulfully into each other’s eyes. Then look some more. And for so long that there is a danger of termites growing! He narrates a simple story of a three couples – one is an unhappily married, the second one happily unmarried; and the third has the heroine with the Alzheimer’s problem. What does the husband of the ill wife do? Does he keep her at home, risking everything, including a little baby she delivered, and has now forgotten all about? Does he send her away to a rehabilitation centre, often that euphemism for dereliction of responsibility? Nice, intriguing questions with a soul that none can challenge. Despite the absence of depth and an occasionally loose grip on narration, they help Devgan in putting together “You, Me aur Hum” as a film that is worthy of attention. It is a film with some poignant moments, as in the wonderful take-off on the “Pakeezah” song. Also a film that has some absolutely wonderful one-liners and perfect chemistry between the three guys. Sumit Raghavan as a woefully married man is simply superb. And rest of the cast adequate, never threatening to bring the film down a notch with mediocrity. The flashback and fast forward technique works without too many jerks. The camerawork is fine, the frame composition eye-catching.

Kajol looks good when she is young. She is better when she is old, sipping her coffee, her luminous eyes exuding rare brilliance. Ajay Devgan as a hero is effective without being excellent. In fact, she is probably a shade too much of him. We would have gladly traded that for a bit more of the wife. Ignore these shortcomings. Watch “You, Me aur Hum” as a piece of mainstream cinema that tackles a serious subject without slipping into hyperboles. The director operates within the given commercial parameters but dishes out a film that will find takers among the multiplex audiences.

ZIYA US SALAM

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