Tum Mile

By: Sumesh Vasishth

Cast: Soha Ali Khan, Emraan Haashmi, Mantra

Music Directors: Pritam Chakraborty

Director: Kunal Deshmukh

SantaBanta Rating: **

Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy. But alas, the tragedy in Tum Mile is not about horrendous Mumbai floods that lashed the city on 26th July, 2005 but the film itself.

It has everything; a quirky artist as protagonist, a control freak but adorable leading lady, their unlikely love story and their sad separation. But in case you are expecting heroics of Jack and Rose ala Titanic in Mumbai floods, you are in for a big disappointment.

The two ex-lovers Akshay (Emraan Hashmi) and Sanjana (Soha Ali Khan) bump into each other aboard a Mumbai-bound flight on 26/7. Apparently, Akki is uncomfortable in her presence and their aircraft’s turbulence pushes him into the flashbacks of his own stormy relationship with Sanjana in Cape Town.

Those were the days! She was a budding professional but with an ‘environment friendly’ green heart. He was a people’s artist doubling up as a delivery boy whose beard defied every logic. Once on their 40 Km journey back home, it changed styles thrice in her plush car itself.

Sanjana recognised his talent and charm and the two moved in together. They had their good times but things went downhill when his lack of financial wisdom started affecting the artist in him.

The duo bade good bye to each other to pursue their own careers and after six long years the destiny has brought them together again to face another storm.

Gusty winds, high tides are ripping Mumbai, at last you expect to see the much publicised 26/7 floods on screen but unlike in real life the action lasts only 10 minutes, though enough time for the couple to cast away their grudges.

Still, you don’t lose hope. Like all Bhatt films you eagerly look forward to the regular shock element and the director Kunal Deshmukh gives us one. Given a lack of shocker in the scipt, he electrocutes Emraan's poor friend Vick (Mantra) to complete the ritual. How about that for a shock?

There is a clear disconnect between the lives of leading characters and unfortunate disaster that took place in Mumbai. The colossal mishap should have been given much more prominence, instead of using it as an instrument to take the narrative forward.

Soha Ali Khan clearly takes the cake away from Emraan as a restrained girl. Hashmi on the other hand is very predictable and takes home nothing more than two kisses from Soha. Songs are okay but too many.

Unprecedented rains and floods claimed over a thousand lives when Mumbai experienced 944 mm of rainfall on that ominous day. The financial loss is pegged at Rs 450 crore, just add Tum Mile to it as well.