Tum Mile Movie Review : Wet Until Dark
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Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Soha Ali Khan, Water Kumar
Director: Kunal Deshmukh
Rating: Three stars
Squawk. The wannapaint Picasso is facing an artist’s block. How he rumbles, bumbles, grumbles. Then flash! He sees his live-in girlfriend sitting sadly on the bed, our faces turn red, and heil M F Husain, the artist is ready with a canvas overnight. Right.
That’s a rather juvenile situation imagined for Tum Mile, or Love Story July 25 2005. Hang on though. To the immense credit of director Kunal Deshmukh, he shoots it with such sensitivity and grace, that you’re convinced that he’s an underrated director. Both Deshmukh and Mohit Suri (Woh Lamhe) from the Mahesh-Mukesh Bhatt factory are excellent technicians, and deserve to be in the A-list of mainstream directors. They know mise en scene, where to manoeuvre the camera at which point, when to cut, and why the lighting shouldn’t look as if life was a permanent wedding reception. Deshmukh made an auspicious beginning with Jannat which even clicked commercially. Cool?
Don’t know about cool but wet for sure. For his second foray into Emraan Hashmidom (including a couple of dainty mouth-to-mouth you-know-whats), Deshmukh opts for a subject that’s strangely reminiscent of plight of Jeff Goldblum-Margaret Colin — an estranged couple who reunite on the brink of disaster — in Independence Day.
In this case, the disaster is the monsoon fury evidenced by Mumbai over four years ago. So what?..you might ask. So plenty.
The outcome is two separate movies. One is about Hashmiji and Soha Ali Khan going gaga sa re gaga in Cape Town. He’s a waiter with a talent for repairing dilapidated chocolate cakes, and she’s wealthy enough to be on the Forbes richest list. Her dad’s Sachin Khedekar, who does not look like the Forbes type at all, but you let that pass. And anyway he fetches up only for a minute to admonish his daughter, “What is this live-in relationship all about? My generation was not like your generation..blah blooh bleeeeh.” Oh puh-lease.
More: Cake Man wants to bake paintings instead and Forbes girl who campaigns for a greener world. In that pursuit, they go through quite a few montage Pritam songs about love, heartache and break-up. They split only to meet up, then, in the first class cabin of an airplane.Very intelligently, Cake quizzes, “What are you doing on this plane?” Even more intelligently, she smiles, “Same as you are doing, going to Mumbai.” Rattled Cake asks the airhostess to shift him to the economy class (no way, she says, spoilsport!). Grrrr, he goes, downing a mini-Vat 69. And hey you thought that Scotch had vanished with the daze of Jeetendraji (trivia info: Jeetendraji danced among cut-outs of Vat 69 in Gunahon ka Devta…oh boy!).
Soon we’re on to the second film (two for the price of one, see) which is shot in a studio and also uses archival footage to recreate the monsoon devastation in Mumbai. While the first film or the heartistic section is scripted, shot and performed marvellously, the second one, is for want of a better word, sorry. Er..soggy.
Painstakingly crafted certainly but the special effects are pure cheddar (particularly a telegraph pole hitting a flooded road), and the ending is as predictable as X’mas in December. The nail-biting tension required for an aqualung caper, which even strives to be a micro-Titanic (check out a wall giving way to a whoosh of water), is conspicuous by its absence.
Technically, this effort arrives ironically in the same week as the gazillion-dollar-fuelled 2012. It’s evident that if popular cinema is to match FX with Hollywood, infinitely far more resources are needed and also a screenplay which doesn’t keep cutting between the past (Cape Town) and the present (Mumbai) as if it was desperately imitating Alain Resnais’ time jugglery.
That apart, there’s still decent value for money here , particularly for the manner in which cinematographer Prakash Kutty and director Deshmukh achieve a mellow, subdued look throughout. The dialogue is teasingly pepperminty. Pritam’s music score is one of his more dulcet ones, melodious and even elegiac as in Dil ibadat and Tu hi haqeeqat.
Of the cast, Soha Ali Khan tends to get overwrought occasionally but overall, she is likeable and watchable. Emraan Hashmi’s convincing despite the difficult role; he’s confident and in control. Supporting players are quite okey-dokey just like the rest of this Tum Gilay.
PS: (Synopses and notes located on websites for Tum Mile indicate that the character of Emraan Hashmi was called Ali Taha…in the movie the character is called Akshay..what happened?..why the change?..anyway..could be someone thought ‘Akshay’ is more amenable to the box-office..well?)
Tags: Emraan Hashmi, Kunal Deshmukh, Movie Review, Mukesh Bhatt, Soha Ali Khan, Tum Mile, Tum Mile Movie Review
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Humour looks too forced in the review, just for heck of it, but the reviews ain’t being funny any more.
You can write well KM, as i saw in ur articles on Ashok Kumar and Simple Kapadia.
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totally agree with Ratnakar! This review is like KM’s movies, pointless. How about some citizen journalism and not weekly doses of KM’s surreally nice but weird word-smithing?
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I differ to agree with both of you.
See the way KM structured it –1. Starting with his usual word-play
2. Talking of technical and narrative merit/demerit of the movie
3. Fusing his own viewpoint and humor.
Please let me know what more do you want from a critic. Trust me, I am one of those persons who likes to ask critic “Do you exist or do you think” but even I am finding that after all these years Khalid Saab is again evoluting. In a very good way.
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Ratnakar, thank u from the bottom of my heart for keeping track of my frailties. I do understand that there is the post-millennium phenomenon of the critic’s critic.
Perhaps one day before I die, I will be able to write a review to your satisfaction and no longer belabour myself. Till then the struggle continues.
And Ayan, which movie are u talking about? Fiza? Was it pointless to touch upon, or even try to touch upon the after effects of communal riots? Was it pointless to deal with the identity of the Muslim woman in post-independence India. Yes as for the wordsmithing, what is “surreally nice but weird wordsmithing?” See, I’m still learning..please let me know the difference btween the two, and what the hell is surrealism according to your..er..goodself?
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ah touchy? :D that reaction couldnt do with the humour..could it it? I’d rather go for the subtle nuances of the Muslim woman in post independence India breaking into a jiggy “aankh milaooongeee :D” in tight leather pants..and that to to show that she could be ‘hip’ as well! by shaking her hip!! :D I loved that humour man..u rock!
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No One told Fiza is a great movie but if you can stand Five young guns laughing and hugging while the background music(in the same radio station they have hijacked)plays “Ai Shalaa”, then why could not the woman break into a jiggy.
Compromise is a big word my friend and not only by its length.
But the point is Ayan’s comments are brilliantly countered by Khalid whereas to continue a discussion on some other movie beating the intended content is what I think, really, pointless.
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no doubt it is
so i got a taste of my own medicine! that was what u intended and i’ll be content with it :D
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It is not pointless to deal with Muslim women in post-independence India.
It is not pointless 5 youths coming to terms with reality of life.
It is not pointless a girl raped and his brother burning the world down.
It is not pointless that a happy family always in a wedding mood and singing and dancing.
It is not pointless dacoits attacking village and villagers rising to challenge.
It is all about how the point is made. Hope you get the drift…or was that the drift?
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I don’t really understand What Ratnakar means here. The review was not meant to be funny. The jokes are there to accentuate the writing and not meant to be the highlight. Ver well structured review Khalid Sahab.
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I must tell u khalidji..this time ur review was really good.I really enjoyed reading your review after a long time.I didn’t see any problem with your review.I feel Mr Ratnakar should read it second time and try to understand what exactly you have written!!
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Thanks KM for willing to engage into a discussion. There are two parts to my statement
1) Pointless reviews and pointless movies made by you
2) Surreally nice but weird wordsmithing
I will touch on the second part first.
Your reviews are no doubt, well constructed and paraphrased. There are your usual garbs ( Tum Giley, on a different note, thought it was a brilliant punch). Literature wise, first rate. But reading your review is akin to walking down a maze of random scenaries , a mashup of views, which leaves me context-less. I am like , ok, did i miss something? Funny but surreal, and yes, was there a point? When its a Beatles tribute you write or a Simple K Obituary, it makes sense, the personal touch, at times heartfelt, which is well, surrenly nice AND meaningful. But like in this review, the logical construct, though apparent only within paragraphs, is missing largely as a whole. ( Or are you trying to create a non linear paradigm of movie reviewing a.k.a Chris Nolan, Marc Webb and our own K Deshmukh here). Or is it that an old man, sipping on his Jack Daniels and having some fun harmless fun every Friday?
Secondly, an artists work cannot be judged on one piece. Fiza is probably your magnum Opus, and though I agree, the movie subject could have been path-breaking and miles away from pointlessness, the movie itself left a lot to be desired. I so badly wanted to connect to it, but I could not. Yet a fair try. However, why don’t you also brief us on Silsilay , Tehzeeb and Zubeida and how you think it was meaningful and entertaining? Just like a few of these movies which opened on a fair bit of hype machine and left the cinegoers high and dry, your reviews, also leave us with a fair of bit wtf-ness, pardon my insouciance on movie making and reviewing.
On a lighter note, i have been a ardent fan of PFC and just lately I think the flurry of articles gives this forum a KMisque look ( like so many thought this was AK’s personal blog)
Cheers. more JD>
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For once, let go off the prejudices and go through the review again. I enjoyed reading this and if not for the humor, I would have skipped and not made it to the end like I did with so many of the other PFC reviews. The first two comments posted minutes after the review were harsh enough for KM to lose his composure(for once) and defend his Fiza. Just shows that he is as fallible as any of us who sometimes can’t help but react instinctively in response to a personal attack. Having established that he is one among us as far as human emotions are concerned, I think we (PFCians) should move on to have a more objective look at his reviews. On a personal note, I always liked reading his reviews and would like to see him do the same on PFC.
Hmmm… I am looking forward to the release of AK’s next movie that he announced!
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Jack Daniels???? Mr Ayan u need it!
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Siva, I dont have any prejudice against KM. That was not a personal comment, it was just an objective statement.
And since you brought out the ‘personal’ attack thing, come on man, this guy practically made a career out of personal attacks ( which is alright, media is all about the right soundbites ) . Have you read the No Smoking review, have you read the Blue review ( I am neutral on No Smoking and negative on Blue, so basically I am not trying to defend any of those)
Such Fanboys!
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Ayan, I am not a Fanboy and would actually like to profess irreverance to all :-) I respect yours and Ratnakar’s views which were pretty harmless even though I might have perceived them as personal attacks, if I were the author given that these were the first two comments. I second you that KM himself indulged in a lot of personal attacks to make his writing more interesting/controversial. All the more surprising to me the way he reacted to your comments. I had a feeling that your comments dragged him out of his closet and exposed a human side (A critic not able to take criticism!) of his which I am not used to see him do.
I did read his reviews of Blue and No Smoking where he just ripped apart these films and read Anurag’s reaction as well. Did you actually like these movies? Guess, your reaction depends on that, assuming you have no stake in the outcome of these films. Disclaimer: I haven’t watched either of those. May you can point me to a review of his where you actually liked the film and he ripped it apart just for the heck of it.
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Hi Siva.
I disliked Blue to the core. Such pointless and inane opulence. But the way KM ripped it apart, phew, it was bordering on being sadistic.
No Smoking did not amaze or amuse me. But I felt it was an honest try at making something unconventional, probably the narrative and the subtle connections to a cluless conformist society could have a little less subtle. But overall, such movies could do well with some breathing space. But in less than an hour of that movie releasing KM came out with a personal, scathing, hurtful review. It was almost like he had a personal score to settle.
See all said, if you are in Media, you have to grab the eyeballs. KM has done well and thats why he has survived for so long. Show me one guy who has this long run as a movie reviewer and columnist across different journals. However, I still believe this reviews leave me with a pointless feeling as his movies. On the positive side, atleast, there is some consistency!
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(Ed.note: Comment partially deleted. Please respect PFC’s comment policy. No personal attack on others!)
Ayan. U say it is not a personal attack then say Khalid made personal attacks..so it is okay for u to make then. ….. Btw why Blue and No Smoking?
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Khalid ji, I was a huge fan of your reviews in Sunday Times when I was in college in 1990s, not any more. I strongly dislike the patronising tone. Especially after watching your own films that could well invite the same kind of disguised derision if someone can only match the linguistic skills.
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Guys can you stop bringing up movies directed by Khalid Mohammed. For crying out loud, here he is reviewing a movie, and quite a well written review at that. Ratnakar et al, who feel that his reviews are not upto the mark, how does it matter, dont read them, better still dont respond to them. Now are we going to influence him or teach him how to write a review. He has his own style of writing which a lot of people like and a lot dont. Take it or leave it, why make personal remarks about his failed movies. Worse why link his movie making efforts with his writing of reviews.
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Hmmm.. why not make personal remarks about his failed movies????….
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I agree nitin… the comments here have digressed here immensely!!!
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This is the problem when someone like KM does the first review of a movie. Dudezz…He was reviewing TUM MILE…and there is not a single comment about the movie that he reviewed. Probably there should be another “dummy” post where all who want to comment on Khalid and his movies can do at their will. Every review he has written on PFC has 100s of comments but not even 10% of the comments are about the movie…half of them praise his writing..and the remaining hate him for his movies!
Khalid Sir, use a different pen-name next time you do a review and no one will comment on your previous work
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Can’t believe you guys have a discussion on after all a movie review!!!!
Reviews are like chewing gums guys… Spit them after 2 mins.
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Can’t believe you guys are having a discussion on after all a movie review!!!!
Movie reviews are like chewing gums guys… Spit them after 2 mins.
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Superfun review, I am enjoying this series of bad film fun reviews.
“Her dad’s Sachin Khedekar, who does not look like the Forbes type at all, but you let that pass.”
Ha ha!
Vat(69) laga di!
And whatever these guys are talking about, I love your writing…
“The nail-biting tension required for an aqualung caper, which even strives to be a micro-Titanic (check out a wall giving way to a whoosh of water), is conspicuous by its absence.”
Tum Gilay! Ha ha!
Btw, reviewing reviews is so 2005.
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Khalid saab, do no get disheartened by personal attack on your reviews. You are the best of the lot. After all these years since I have been reading critiques on movies, not one reviewer has appeared to be an art critique. Only you have achieved that distinction. Making movies and critiquing movie-making are as disparate fields as one can imagin.
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Dear Sarwar, will you invest in stocks on my advice if it turned out my own portfolio had lost value by 80% ?
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To a large extent I agree with the review over here.Saw the movie just a short while ago & I certainly feel that the romantic track was more or less spot on.Loved the music of Pritam- easy going & in control as well.Somehow the disaster part ( which has been projected more ) is not at all convincing- due to VFX work not matching the requirement.Overall a reasonably decent film- and yes Emraan certainly seems to be improving in his last few films.
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nice post. I agree that Mohit Suri and Kunal Deshmukh are really talented guys.
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Ya they are surely talented ……But “Tum Mile” is the latest victim of wrong publicity. Had it been promted as a love story alone with a different promotional campaign not emphasising particularly on the Flood Scenes then it surely would have looked upon in a different way.
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hmm … instead of reviewing the reviewer/review, can we discuss the merits/demerits of the movie that has been reviewed.
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if someone has difference of opinion on the movie[like/dislike], plz put that.
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are we rating the review or rating/discussing the movie
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Guys, let us agree on one fact. Khalid writes well. He sometimes makes a thin line between reviewing and lampooning, but then when one is seeing bad films week after week, from DVD inspired stories, one tends to go a little overboard.
Note that, he has been able to remark on a good story or lighting or even acting (very seldom) once in a while. It is not being cynical, it is just that tastes evolve and he has to adjust his mind and pen ever so often.
Writing is after all an art form and as with all other art forms, we cannot appreciate something we see often. Dravid’s cover drive, R K Laxman’s daily cartoon, Bachchan’s blogs, Mahesh Lunch Home’s chefs, the draftsman in my office, etc. have suffered the same fate.
But Khalid, in all fairness, let us be enthused about your being here and writing, as only you can!
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I find the humour (or attempts at it) forced on most occasions and could do without some of the personal remarks (though havent seen many in some of the recent reviews out here). No comment on his views … they are his own … & I keep my own counsel. I find myself agreeing with his views sometimes & not otherwise. I haven’t seen anything that explains some of the vitriol spewed out here.
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Nice review. ( use of soggy – awsummm)
Have been reading all ur reviews on pfc.
Keep them coming.
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Hello, this is quite like a adda with a few regulars bashing writers and each other with their superior views. There does not seem to be any air of live and let live.
each one is out to outsmart the other.
Wonder then why India is turning arrogant despite wholesale poverty all around.!
phantom
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeUyMHD5eFM
First vut Trailer of Raktha Charitra though in telugu
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