Review of Hum Tum (2004) by Sophie S — 15 Nov 2018

The film Hum Tum is a classic Bollywood romantic comedy that is entertaining and perfectly executed. If you've seen and liked Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, then this movie is a perfect match for you: the music and plot are very similar and it's not as long! Although I believe DDLJ has more singing and dancing, Hum Tum does have its fair amount of love songs. Hum Tum also has a twist where it incorporates some animation within the plot, giving it the right balance of different film techniques. If you are a fan of flashback movies as well as fast forwarding into the future, then this is the film for you. The flashbacks, typical of Bollywood movies, are very effective in explaining the narrative. "Flashbacks are a very common narrative device to establish context, introduce characters, and situate the central conflict within a larger temporal frame, usually across generations," (Ganti, 105). The film moves at a steady pace and is easy to follow along. Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee are the leads in the film and do a superb acting job.

Just as in DDLJ when Raj and Simran venture to different locations, the plot of Hum Tum also takes us on a journey to see different parts of the world. The film does a beautiful job at this as we observe the evolution of the relationship between the main characters. With all of the different gaps in years throughout the film, we get to see a new place with each segment.

The only downside of the film is that it was a little slow after the halfway point because it was starting to get repetitive, but it did speed up near the end. The end is one of the cutest parts of the entire movie so one has to watch the entire film. I would recommend this film to viewers who want an upbeat romantic comedy!