27 March,2010 07:36 AM IST | | Sarita Tanwar
Hum Tum Aur Ghost
U/A; Drama
Dir: Kabeer Kaushik
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Dia Mirza and Boman Irani
''
Whatu00a0it's about: Ghost stories seem to be the flavour of the season. Nothing wrong with that, except the fact that they're beginning to horrify audiences for all the wrong reasons.
The premise of Hum Tum Aur Ghost seems inspired by the Hollywood film Ghost Town but Arshad Warsi claims he wrote the script two years before that film released. Fine then! This one is about fashion photographer Armaan (Arshad) who hears strange noises at night when he is alone. He starts drinking heavily and resorts to sleeping at train stations to drown out the voices.
He also sees a psychiatrist but doesn't discuss his problem withu00a0 girlfriend Gehna (Dia Mirza),u00a0 the editor of a fashion magazine. Before long, he also starts seeing the (dead) people he can hear all the time. They want him to help them move to the world beyond after fulfilling their last wishes. After much reluctance, he finally agrees to help themu00a0-- one at a time, starting with Kapoor (Boman Irani), a bully. Meanwhile Gehna is convinced he is schizophrenic and decides to leave him. How Armaan manages to keep the ghosts and the girlfriend happy makes for the rest of the film.
What's hot: There's very little to talk about except the chemistry between the lead pair. Dia looks pretty and Arshad keeps the mood light but with no help from the script, that's just not enough. Boman, as usual, breathes life into his 'dead' character. There are few poignant moments in the film like the scene of Kapoor and his wife, and the tale of the mother looking for the lost son, and one can't help wondering why that wasn't developed better. A film can be predictable and yet amusing, so Hum Tum Aur Ghost had a fair chance.
What's not: The story had promise but the screenplay is weak and moves along sluggishly. The songs don't add any value to the film. If it was meant to be a romcom, it failed miserably on that count. There is not a single romantic or funny scene that you remember when you step out of the theatre. Arshad's look in the film is disappointing too. For starters, he has a 'bad hair day' throughout the film.
He looks scruffy and unwashedu00a0-- not exactly how a top fashion photographer would step out. Also, the film is ridden with clichu00e9su00a0-- the disapproving father of the girl, the son who ill-treats his mother after the father's death and the suspicious girlfriend. After a while, you just resign and wait for the inevitable end to come. Even the twist in the end isn't good enough to salvage its fate.
What's that: We've heard of ghosts possessing bodies. But when Kapoor possesses Armaan's body in front of his wife, he also transforms back into his old body. How? Also, once the dead mother gets her wish and finds her son, why doesn't she move on? She decides to wait till her son gets married. Now that's being greedy!
What to do: Watch it only if you have no other way of beating the heat except staying in a cool theatre for two hours.
