Hum Tum marked Mukerji's third film with Yash Raj Films. The film has several short animation sequences, which were created by Kathaa Animations headed by Prakash Nambiar, with special effects done by Tata Elxsi. The cinematography is done by Sunil Patel. Jatin–Lalit composed the music, while lyrics were written by Prasoon Joshi.[4]
Hum Tum was released theatrically on 28 May 2004 and received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for its direction, soundtrack and cast performances, but criticism for its script.[2] It had an above-average opening and was a major success at the box office, with a gross of ₹43.22 million (US$520,000). The film became the sixth highest-grossing film of the year.[5]
Karan Kapoor is a cartoonist and a self-styled ladies' man. His daily comic, named "Hum Tum," explores the battle of male/female behavior. On a plane from Delhi to New York, he meets Rhea Prakash, who doesn't seem to be interested in him. His feeble attempts at flirting go nowhere, but when they have a stopover in Amsterdam, she agrees to explore the city with him. Karan quickly learns that he has little in common with the feisty but proper Rhea, but he won't give up. He ends their contentious time together with an unwelcome kiss. Outraged, Rhea slaps him and storms off, but Karan insists they'll meet again. After six months, he spots her in a park in New York, and he makes a scene with his girlfriend Shalini, who turns out to be Rhea's childhood friend, which ends in their breakup.
Three years later, Karan is helping his mother plan a wedding that turns out to be Rhea's. Rhea is marrying Sameer. They bicker again, but this time, they part on good terms. Three years later in Paris, Karan is visiting his father, Arjun, when he runs into Rhea. He learns from Rhea's mother, Parminder "Bobby" Prakash, that Sameer has died in a car accident just after their first marriage anniversary, and he sets out to help her reclaim her positive outlook on life.
Karan returns to Mumbai, and three months later, Rhea and Bobby visit. Sensing that she needs to be with a strait-laced, "boring guy," he conspires with Bobby to fix her up with his shy best friend, Mihir Vora. But eventually Mihir falls in love with a friend of Karan's, Diana Fernandez, and they get engaged. On the engagement night, Rhea learns from a drunk Diana about the conspiracy and gets upset with Karan. Mihir makes Rhea realize her and Karan's love for each other. That night, Rhea and Karan consummated their relationship. Karan deems it a mistake and asks Rhea to marry him as he feels he took advantage of her, and that marriage will rectify the mistake. Rhea becomes upset, as she did not consider their actions a mistake; she realizes she loves him but tells Karan that they should not commit one more mistake by marrying for the wrong reasons. Rhea leaves him since Karan projects his confused feelings as guilt rather than love for her. Karan realises his mistake and tries to seek her out but fails.
One year later, Karan's cartoon Hum Tum becomes a hit, and he writes a book about Hum and Tum. Basically, the story is based on his love story with Rhea, who reads that book and finds him at the press conference. Karan and Rhea reunite again. Karan admits his love for her, and they get married and have a baby girl. While looking at their child lovingly, a baby boy is placed in the crib next to hers. Karan believes that the boy will marry his daughter and complains to Rhea, saying men flirt since the day they are born, indicating that their daughter and the boy will have their own romantic relationship.
Hum Tum is produced under the banner of Yash Raj Films by Aditya Chopra. It marks Kunal Kohli's second directorial after Mujhse Dosti Karoge!.[7][8] The film is inspired from the 1989 English film When Harry Met Sally.[9] Kohli later said he wanted to make a remake and added, "We approached the studio, which had the rights of the Hollywood film. When we sent our script to them, they said that it has to be at least 70 percent similar to be an official remake. According to them, we were not, so they rejected the remake concept."[10][11]
Casting
The film marked Mukerji and Khan's first of the many collaborations
Kunal Kohli and Aditya Chopra first approached Aamir Khan for the role of Karan. However, he declined the offer. Hrithik Roshan and Vivek Oberoi were then offered the role, but they turned down the part.[12]
Kohli then cast Saif Ali Khan as cartoonist Karan. Kohli said, "I realised that the role needed a younger man [...] someone who could present a more youthful picture. Saif has this unique quality, he can play a 21-year old as well as a 29-year old and was ideal for [the film]."[13][14] Khan termed the role among his "favourite onscreen characters".[15]
Kohli and Chopra then roped in Rani Mukerji as the stronghead Rhea.[14] The film marked her third collaboration with Yash Raj Films and second with Kohli. Kohli said, "I always wanted to work with Rani [Mukerji] and we shared a great equation." While Mukerji added that she "loved the script" and called it a "special film".[16][17]
Hum Tum had managed to create a strong buzz before pre-release due to its songs, unusual and interesting promos and fresh style of narrative.[29] Saif Ali Khan was introduced as Karan on the TV series Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin.[30]Hum Tum's cartoon strips were also featured in the Bombay Times. That year, India Today also featured Hum Tum's pictures as its cover on a story titled "Bollywood's blockbuster summer".[31][32]
The CD and audio cassette also feature an instrumental version of "Hum Tum" and a deleted song called "Yaara Yaara". This tune was reused in Kunal Kohli's next film, Fanaa (2006), in the songs "Chand Sifarish" and, more noticeably, "Chanda Chamke". The latter has the same tune throughout the entire song. Both the songs are inspired from the song "Samra we betha" by the Iraqi band Miami. The song "Chak De" is inspired from the Arabic song "Yalla Ya Shabab" by Ragheb Alama.[36]
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama stated, "Jatin-Lalit's music is amongst the high points of the enterprise. The rule of the game is that a love story ought to be embellished with a melodious score and the narrative in HUM TUM does get a definite push thanks to a lovely score from this talented music director duo. While the title track, "Ladki Kyon", "Chak De" and "Gore Gore" sound easy to the ears, the best part is that they're well placed in the story."[39] Jay Mamtora of BBC noted, "Jatin-Lalit's music has a 'been there heard that quality' about it but a couple of the tracks are undeniably catchy."[40]
Charts and sales
The music topped charts on a number of platforms in India. According to Box Office India, with around 1,600,000 units (1.6 million units) sold, this film's soundtrack was the eighth highest-best-selling album of the year.[41]
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama says that "casting is one of the film's strengths." He further praised Khan for his "arresting performance" and Mukerji for taking a giant leap as an actor, with her flawless performance." He added, "On the whole, Hum Tum is a decent fare, topped with captivating performances and mesmerising music. But a slow and not-too-exciting second half dilutes the impact to an extent."[39]Rediff.com's Tanmay Kumar Nanda noted, "Hum Tum tugs at your heartstrings, makes you laugh and rejoice in the vagaries of loving and losing without losing itself in that abyss that has claimed many a Hindi film: mushy sentimentalism."[47]
Jay Mamtora of BBC stated, "Hum Tum runs on a simple premise and an extremely thin plot. It's all been seen before but what makes it eminently watchable and enjoyable is Kohli's treatment of the story and his sense of casting." A decent heart warming popcorn flick."[40] Kaveree Bazmai of India Today stated, "The witty exchanges don't ring false, the emotional pitch in the melodramatic parts is just right and the cameos are succulent."[48] Archana Vora of NDTV noted that most of the film "seems borrowed from the Yash Chopra school of romance (Dry leaves & chiffon) or even better from When Harry Met Sally...," and wrote that Mukerji was completely overshadowed by the "very savvy and sassy Saif."[49]
Derek Elley of Variety wrote, "this Westernized tale of mismatched friends who just can't fess up to their real feelings is a couple of notches below the Chopra par, with so-so dialogue and lack of strong chemistry between leads Khan and Rani Mukherjee."[50]
Chitra Mahesh of The Hindu stated, "Hum Tum is one of those films where you would walk out with a broad smile on your face! Feel good, feel nice and generally feel that it was time well spent. The film with direction, dialogue and story by Kunal Kohli, is extremely suave and incredibly charming. Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerjee excel in their parts.[7]Namrata Joshi of Outlook India said that Hum Tum is a conversational film that comes riding on some witty lines and starry performances. She added, "Perhaps it's to do with Saif's easy domination of every possible frame and Rani always seems to be reacting to a situation than taking an initiative."[51] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Mid-Day, despite noting the film to be an improvement over Kohli's previous film Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, found it "marred by dismal styling, languid editing and a past its sell-by date score (Jatin-Lalit)." However, she praised Saif's performance, concluding that his "comic timing, spontaneous performance and sportingly going through some questionable hairdos, is reason enough to see Hum Tum."[52]
Box office
Hum Tum collected ₹ 12.30 million on its first day and ₹ 74.90 million in its first week.[5][1][53]Hum Tum was a major success at the box office, with a gross of ₹ 432.2 million, and became the sixth highest-grossing film of the year. Internationally, it grossed ₹ 152.5 million at the box office.[54] In its first week, the film was the ranked seventh in the top 10 charts in United Kingdom.[55]Hum Tum is one of the top earners of the decade in India and at the foreign box office.[56]
Hum Tum remains one of the most popular romantic drama in Hindi cinema. The film was named as one of the Bollywood's top 10 most romantic movies by The Times of India and Vogue.[61][62]Filmfare noted how the film "hasn't ceased to be relatable" even after all these years. Zee News stated, "Hum Tum set a benchmark and created a new genre of romantic comedy for Bollywood. The film also teaches that it is not always "Love at first sight".[63][64] It was also noted for exploring the theme of "premarital sex".[65]Shubhra Gupta featured the film in her book called ‘‘50 Films That Changed Bollywood’’.[66][67]
Hum Tum marked Kohli's first directorial success.[68]Hum Tum is cited as a milestone in Khan, Mukerji and Kohli's career.[69] While it was Khan's first solo major success,[70] it was Mukerji's first film for which she received the Best Actress awards.[71] Khan and Mukerji's performance has been noted as one of their most notable works. The film consolidated their career.[72][73][74] Khan and Mukerji were named in Bollywood Hungama's list of the top 10 best romantic couples of the decade.[75]The Indian Express termed them as the "SRK-Kajol" of the 2000s.[76] In 2023, Hum Tum was part of the docu-series The Romantics, through the segment "The New Guard".[77][78]
Mukerji's character Rhea has been noted for been a different female lead in Bollywood. She later went on to say about her character, "Hum Tum was a very special and a modern subject. It was definitely ahead of its time. The way my character Rhea reacts at the end and walks away from Saif's character's [Karan] life when he just randomly suggests to get married because they had physical intimacy, was bold. For a girl to actually walk away from a man and break stereotypes and notions of how a woman should react, it was new but it was also much needed to show in cinema. I think Rhea's character stood for the modern Indian woman at that time."[79] Harshita Singh of ScoopWhoop noted — Rhea’s independence, feisty sense of feminism, zest for life, compassionate nature and practical approach towards life.[80]
In other media
Two graphic novels have been published related to the film and Hum Tum characters. They are as follows:
A graphic novel named Hum Tum: The War Begins!, published by Yomics World in 2012.[81]
A graphic novel named Ek Tha Tiger: Caught in the Web, published in 2012 by Yomics World, which features some Hum Tum characters.[82]
Besides these novels, a cartoon series on the characters of "Hum" and "Tum" was also planned.[83]
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