Do you read Mills & Boon?. Review on Hum Tum

If you have been a Times of India reader or an avid watcher of ?Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin?, you couldn?t have missed all the hype involving a cartoon strip and strange new characters sneaking into the prime time soap. With this and other such promotional hoopla doing the rounds before the release of this much-awaited movie, the curiosity factor was definitely strong. Hence it was first day second show for us.

The scene resembled a college canteen. Teeny boppers, many Hum-tums themselves had rushed in to watch this flick the first day. After the lovey-dovey couples had made themselves comfortable in various corners of the theater and boyfriends had resourced an assortment of goodies like popcorn and icecream for their girlfriends, the movie finally began.

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Cartoon strip

The movie is almost like a cartoon strip, funny and witty with lovable characters. Karan Kapoor (why do they always have to have Punjoo heroes?) is a wit-spewing cartoonist whose cartoon strip ?Hum Tum? becomes so popular that he writes a book on those characters. Ok, he is also an incorrigible flirt. Intermittently he keeps bumping into Ria Prakash, who is on her way to New York for her studies. Their first meeting is in the aircraft when they get seats side-by-side (My! how innovative!). After their brief dalliance in Amsterdam enroute to New York, they part ? only to meet once again in Delhi 3 years later. This is the occasion of Ria?s wedding with Sameer, a computer whiz kid based in New York.

The marriage over, they part once again. Another three years down, Karan makes a visit to Paris to visit his Dad (who lives separately from his mom). Here Ria surfaces once again. Life has changed dramatically for her and the relationship between the two protagonists takes a new turn.

The narrative is interspersed with animation sequences, which sometimes may appear a bit kiddish, but keeping in mind the overall look and feel of the movie, I suppose it fits in place. The funnies from the cartoon strip spill over to the real characters as you find yourself smiling continuously at the ribaldry and repartees transpiring between Karan and Ria.

Life is ?mush? more than a cartoon strip

If the first half of the movie finds you getting bored at the attempt to target the college crowd, you may want to wait for the second half, which is a much more serious, albeit mushy, drama. At the very core of this plot is a simple romantic story of lovers meeting, separating and then meeting again, of unexpressed love, of heartaches. The gradual realization of love between the two characters is beautifully depicted. However, on closer scrutiny, you may realize that the plot drags in parts and could have been easily wrapped up atleast half an hour earlier.

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Performances:

It?s clear that the character of Karan has been written with Saif Ali Khan in mind. I just cannot visualize any other actor in this role pulling it off so well. Karan is Saif and Saif is Karan. On the other hand, Rani Mukherjee?s Ria is like any other girl. To give her her due, one must say that she does full justice to the requirements of the role.

While the screenplay is hogged primarily by these two central characters, there is still some scope for a few other supporting stars to leave an impression. Kirron Kher as Ria?s Punjoo, English-attempting-but-failing, mother is a riot. (Isn?t this character getting repeated a trifle too often nowadays?) Rishi Kapoor (after a long hiatus) as Karan?s photographer dad makes a soulful comeback.

The film boasts of a large number of special appearances. While Shenaz Treasurywalla as a friend and Rati Agnihotri as Karan?s mom do not appeal much, Abhishek Bachchan as Ria?s husband Sameer, Jimmy Shergill as Karan?s friend Mihir, and Ishaa Koppikar as Mihir?s fiancée, Diana, have slightly more meatier roles and thus leave an impact.

Music

The music by Jatin-Lalit fits into the mood of the plot very beautifully. The songs in the initial part are light hearted fun stuff, Ladki kyon, Chak de and Gore gore are passable. You may enjoy them for some time, but they are certainly not collector-item material. However, the title song is really nice and romantic and sets the tone for the remaining part of the film. Its been sung beautifully by Babul Supriyo and Alka Yagnik.

Technical aspects

If you liked Kunal Kohli?s earlier venture ?Mujhse Dosti Karoge?, this film will strike a chord. But its still a light hearted romance with an element of depth missing. Camerawork and editing is first rate and the views of Amsterdam and Paris are mind blowing. The animation has been done quite professionally. The dialogues are quite witty, almost laugh-a-minute, well not rolling-in-the-aisles stuff, but enough to bring up a smile.

Finally

If you are a die-hard romantic, you may love this movie. If you are a teenager or possess the ability to mentally transform yourself into one, you may identify with the characters. If you are a Saif fan, then you cannot afford to miss this one.

But if you are looking for some kind of depth and substance in a plot, then forget it. Only time will tell whether the film is able to live up to the super hype that is typical of the Chopra-Johar brand of movies. It?s a mixed bag really.