U Me Aur Hum

About the film

U Me Aur Hum (transl. You, Me, and Us) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film co-written, directed, and produced by Ajay Devgn. The film tells the story of Ajay (Devgn), who meets barmaid Piya (Kajol) on a cruise with his friends (Sumeet Raghavan, Divya Dutta, Karan Khanna, and Isha Sharvani). They fall in love and marry; a few months later, Piya is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The film was announced in May 2007 and was the directorial debut of Devgn, who had long wanted to direct a film. He wrote the story, and the screenplay was written by Robin Bhatt, Sutanu Gupta, and Akash Khurana. Principal photography, by Aseem Bajaj, began in India shortly after the film was announced. It was edited by Dharmendra Sharma, and the background score was written by Monty Sharma. The soundtrack was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Munna Dhiman.

Plot

Ajay tells his son that he should admit his feelings to a girl he likes. His son replies that if Ajay can woo a woman he likes, he will follow his advice. Ajay approaches an older woman, and begins telling her a story. Those around them begin listening, and a flashback begins.

A younger Ajay is on a cruise with four friends: Nikhil and Reena (an unhappily-married couple) and Vicky and Natasha, who are happily unmarried. Ajay meets Piya, a waitress, at the ship's bar and falls in love with her. Tipsy, he buys drinks for everyone at the bar and blacks out. In the morning, Piya delivers the bill and Ajay says that he is still in love with her; she does not reciprocate his feelings. Ajay looks in her diary, where she wrote about her love of salsa dancing. He learns the dance, and Piya becomes interested in him. When she learns that Ajay had looked in her diary and she becomes angry. He leaves, giving Piya a paper with his phone number if she changes her mind.

At their new home, Ajay invites his friends to his house. He has tried to win Piya back by giving her whatever she wants, including a dog. His friends learn when they arrive that Piya and Ajay have gotten married, and are surprised and delighted. The newly married couple begins a wish list, which they write on their bedroom wall; the first entry is to go on a cruise on their 25th anniversary. Several months after they marry, Piya forgets everything (including where she lives) when she goes shopping. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, she is also pregnant. Ajay must keep Piya from hurting the baby; her condition worsens, and he is forced to institutionalise her. However, his friends persuade him to bring her back home.

Production

In May 2007, the entertainment portal Bollywood Hungama reported that Ajay Devgn would make his directorial debut in a project which was later entitled U Me Aur Hum. Wanting to be a director since childhood, Devgn described directing as a passion that came to him "naturally". Addressing the issue of Alzheimer's disease, he had conceived the film three years before its release. Devgn produced the film under Ajay Devgn FFilms, in addition to writing the story and starring in it. The screenplay was written by Robin Bhatt, Sutanu Gupta, and Akash Khurana, and Ashwni Dhir polished the dialogue.

When Devgn told his wife Kajol about U Me Aur Hum, she immediately said that she wanted to star in it. It was their seventh collaboration, following the action films Hulchul (1995), Gundaraj (1995), and Raju Chacha (2000), the romantic comedies Ishq (1997) and Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), and the drama Dil Kya Kare (1999). Kajol played Piya, a waitress who develops Alzheimer's disease several months after her marriage to Ajay. She described her rapport with Devgn, saying that working with him was always a "new experience" because of his unpredictable behaviour. Devgn believed her involvement in the film made his work as director "much easier", describing the opportunity to collaborate once again with the actress. Model-turned-actor Aman Mehra makes a cameo appearance as their son.

Principal photography was completed by Aseem Bajaj and began at the Manoranjan Studio in Andheri, with Sameer Chandra as the production designer. The costumes were designed by Anna Singh except for Kajol's, which was by Manish Malhotra. Singh gave Devgn bright, sun-coloured clothes for the cruise scenes, and suits when he was a doctor at the hospital. Ashley Lobo and Ganesh Acharya were the choreographers, and Jay Sinagh Nijjar was the action director. Shooting moved to Filmistan from 5 to 25 May 2007, and the cruise scenes were filmed there. Editing and sound design were by Dharmendra Sharma and Rakesh Ranjan, respectively, after filming ended. Monty Sharma composed the background score.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Munna Dhiman. Adnan Sami, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sunidhi Chauhan performed the vocals. The album was released by Eros Music on 13 February 2008. In a Bollywood Hungama review, Joginder Tuteja wrote that the singers had made their best effort and said about the title song: "It's a beautiful track that is as melodious as it gets and flows in a direction ..." Meghna Menon of Hindustan Times wrote that Bhardwaj had "once again hit the jackpot" with the film's soundtrack and commending Dhiman's unconventional lyrics. Raja Sen described it as an "innocent ... romantic and real, moody and modest" album. A reviewer for The Hindu said that the Latino feel of "Jee Le" made the song "racy".

Key details