Anarchic Analogy

Psychological aberrations seem to be the flavour of the season.After Aamir Khan made a stunning debut as a director, with dyslexia as his subject, Ajay Devgan too, chose Alzheimer's as a case study for his first film (as a director). So did he match up to his more illustrious peer? Yes, he did, but 'U Me aur Hum' is not just about Alzheimer's. It's a study about love, friendship, and companionship. It's about emotions, and the evolution of emotions.

Irrespective of whether this film makes a mark at the box office, or not, 'U Me aur Hum', has broken new grounds within the paradigm of the conventional love story. And this is what makes this film watchable. The first half has all the elements of a typical Masala film. A guy falls in love with a sultry bar waitress, and then the follows the oh-so-familiar wooing game. But this film does not end where most love stories do...And the second half is delightful. Devgan has showed a lot of maturity in the portrayal of the love struck couple. They are so close and yet so far...

Devgan deserves kudos for the use of sound effects. UMH has utilised sound effects womderfully, and I can't recall any film apart from TZP to have used sound so effectively. The scene where Alzheimer's makes its first appearance (Kajol stranded on the street) has that disturbing screeching sound...and my friend just could not bear it...Well, thats the power of Sound effects, and it did exactly what it was meant for...to force the audience to sit up and take notice.

The sensitivity with which the character's are treated, makes this film a treat to watch. You may argue, but what makes me enthusiastic about this film, is that 'filmi' characters are slowly evolving into men and women. The stereotype is slowly giving away for more realistic portrayals. I don't know whether that's desirable or not, but it certainly adds another layer to the text. Ajay's soliloquy deserves a special mention, because rarely in Hindi cinema do we find such elements. Soliloquies have faded away from all forms of cinema, and it's a refeshing change to see one after such a long time. And Kajol's subdued performance is perhaps one of her best.

But this film too has it's own share of flaws,the first being the editing. It could have been much tighter. The sub-plots (involving the side characters) are not treated with the same seriousness, and have been reduced to mere lampoons. The first half is tacky and full of cheap humuor (Men are like mice, always looking for a hole), but then even the finest of all directors also make mistakes, and this perhaps reinstates that the Director too, is a human being, fallible...just like 'U Me OR Hum'