# Hum Tum (हम तुम)
**Hum Tum** (हम तुम; "Me and You") is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy directed by [Kunal Kohli](https://www.edgepedia.org/kunal-kohli), produced by Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films, and starring [Saif Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/saif-ali-khan) as the cartoonist [Karan Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/karan-kapoor) and Rani Mukerji as Rhea Prakash. Released on 28 May 2004, it follows the two leads across roughly a decade of chance meetings as their relationship moves from hostility to friendship to love, with Karan's animated comic-strip characters "Hum" and "Tum" commenting on the battle of the sexes between them.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 28 May 2004, Yash Raj Films[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum) |
| Director / producer | Kunal Kohli (also story and dialogues); produced by Aditya Chopra[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum) |
| Leads | Saif Ali Khan as Karan Kapoor, Rani Mukerji as Rhea Prakash[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1135229-hum_tum) |
| Music | Jatin-Lalit; lyrics by Prasoon Joshi, Veronica Mehta, and Juggy D.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum) |
| Runtime / US gross | 2h 23m; $770.4K gross in the United States[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1135229-hum_tum) |
| National recognition | Saif Ali Khan won the 2005 National Film Award for Best Actor[3](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=12837) |
| Filmfare wins (2005) | Best Director (Kohli), Best Actress (Mukerji), Best Comic Actor (Khan), Best Playback Singer Female (Alka Yagnik)[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378072/awards/) |
| Streaming | Available on Netflix in India and the United States since December 2025[5](https://flixboss.com/movie/hum-tum-70002021) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and structure
The film opens at an airport as Karan Kapoor, a flirtatious cartoonist who believes boys and girls can never understand each other, and Rhea Prakash, a self-confident woman who works in fashion, fly to New York. A stopover in Amsterdam ends badly when Karan kisses Rhea and is slapped; they part on a sour note.[6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/hum/20040528.htm)
Their paths keep crossing over the following years in Amsterdam, New York, Paris, Delhi, and Mumbai. Karan's girlfriend Shalini ([Shenaz Treasury](https://www.edgepedia.org/shenaz-treasury)) turns out to be Rhea's school friend; Karan later helps his mother with a Delhi wedding whose bride is Rhea; and a meeting on a French train, where Rhea tells him "Samir is no longer part of my life," draws him to his father's Parisian house in search of her.[6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/hum/20040528.htm) The studio synopsis describes the arc as one that evolves "from hate, to mutual respect, friendship and finally" love over the course of a decade.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum)
**The animated device.** Karan's comic-strip characters Hum and Tum, the quintessential boy and girl who cannot live with or without each other, appear throughout the film in animation, acting out the incidents that happen to Karan and Rhea and visualizing his perspective on the love-hate relationship between men and women.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum) • [6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/hum/20040528.htm) Kohli later said that no one had been able to put animation that well in a film before or after *Hum Tum*.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/hrithik-roshan-rejected-hum-tum-main-prem-ki-diwani-hoon-unsure-kunal-kohli-10586366/lite/)
## Relationship to When Harry Met Sally
The film is widely described as inspired by, or a Bollywood version of, the American romantic comedy *When Harry Met Sally* (1989); both films follow two main characters through years of encounters until they become friends and finally fall in love.[8](https://oaji.net/articles/2016/1170-1468260696.pdf) • [9](https://letterboxd.com/cletusvandamm/film/hum-tum/) Scholars have noted where the endings diverge: in *Hum Tum*, on the night Rhea and Karan consummate their relationship, Karan deems it a mistake and asks Rhea to marry him because he feels he took advantage of her, an "Indianization" of the material shaped by prevailing social norms.[8](https://oaji.net/articles/2016/1170-1468260696.pdf)
## Production and low expectations
*Hum Tum* was one of three [Yash Raj Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/yash-raj-films) in production for 2004 release, alongside *Veer-Zaara* and *Dhoom*, and it attracted the least anticipation of the three. Kohli recalled that nobody had liked the title, that his assistant [Siddharth Anand](https://www.edgepedia.org/siddharth-anand) joked the film looked like "a Sterling 10:45 pm show type of a film" that five people would watch, and that Saif Ali Khan's solo films had never worked; Kohli's own first film, *Mujhse Dosti Karoge* (2002), had not done well. He said the only people who believed in the film were [Aditya Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/aditya-chopra) and himself.[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/18-years-hum-tum-exclusive-people-felt-jab-maine-hrithik-roshan-ke-saath-hit-film-nahi-di-toh-saif-ali-khan-ke-saath-hit-film-kaise-dega-kunal-kohli/) Kohli has also said Hrithik Roshan turned down the role of Karan, which went to Saif Ali Khan.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/hrithik-roshan-rejected-hum-tum-main-prem-ki-diwani-hoon-unsure-kunal-kohli-10586366/lite/)
The film was also the first feature release on Yash Raj Music, the label Yash Raj Films launched in 2004 to enter the music business, with cassettes and CDs marketed through the company's overseas offices.[11](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/news/detail/2016/05/20/yash-raj-films-in-2004-bigger-and-better)
## Reception and awards
Contemporary reviews treated the film as a light urban romance. Rediff's review on release day called it "the essential Bollywood formula love story, with a twist," praised Saif Ali Khan's comic timing and [Kirron Kher](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirron-kher)'s performance as Rhea's mother, and judged it a feel-good film that would appeal to urban audiences.[6](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/hum/20040528.htm) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 86% Tomatometer from two critic reviews and a 4.2 out of 5 average from more than 5,000 audience ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1135229-hum_tum)
**Awards.** The film's awards run was led by [Rani Mukerji](https://www.edgepedia.org/rani-mukerji), who won Best Actress honors at the Filmfare, IIFA, Zee Cine, Screen, Bollywood Movie, and Global Indian Film awards, and by Saif Ali Khan, who won the National Film Award (Silver Lotus) for Best Actor for 2004, with the citation praising his "sheer ease, subtlety and spontaneity in portraying a complex and demanding role."[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378072/awards/) • [3](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=12837) Kunal Kohli won Filmfare and Screen Awards for Best Director, and the film's other wins included Alka Yagnik for Best Playback Singer (Female) for "Saanson Ko Saanson Mein," Prasoon Joshi for Best Lyrics at the Screen Awards, and Best Special Effects for Pankaj Khandpur and Kathaa Animation.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378072/awards/) • [12](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/about-us/awards/all-awards/hum-tum) Kohli has also spoken about the controversy around Saif Ali Khan winning the National Award.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/hrithik-roshan-rejected-hum-tum-main-prem-ki-diwani-hoon-unsure-kunal-kohli-10586366/lite/)
## Place in Hindi cinema
[The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) has described *Hum Tum* as one of the first films in which Saif Ali Khan registered a hit without any other male lead in the film, part of an early-2000s phase in which he and Rani Mukerji were paired as a leading duo.[13](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/saif-ali-khan-and-rani-mukerji-were-the-new-shah-rukh-khan-and-kajol-during-hum-tum-days-7627508/lite/) Yash Raj Films' own milestone history records that the film "became immensely popular with the youth."[11](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/news/detail/2016/05/20/yash-raj-films-in-2004-bigger-and-better) Kohli marked the film's anniversaries by saying it had "survived the test of time,"[14](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/16-years-of-hum-tum-kunal-kohli-remembers-saif-and-rani-s-film-it-survived-the-test-of-time-1682809-2020-05-28) and the film returned to circulation on Netflix in India and the United States in December 2025.[5](https://flixboss.com/movie/hum-tum-70002021)
## References
1. [Hum Tum (U "n" I), Yash Raj Films official movie page](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/hum-tum)
2. [Hum Tum (2004), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1135229-hum_tum)
3. [52nd National Film Awards press release, Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=12837)
4. [Hum Tum (2004) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378072/awards/)
5. [Where to watch Hum Tum (2004) on Netflix, Flixboss](https://flixboss.com/movie/hum-tum-70002021)
6. [In the mood for an urban summer romance?, Rediff.com, 28 May 2004](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/hum/20040528.htm)
7. [Hrithik Roshan said no to Saif Ali Khan's Hum Tum role: Kunal Kohli, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/hrithik-roshan-rejected-hum-tum-main-prem-ki-diwani-hoon-unsure-kunal-kohli-10586366/lite/)
8. [Portrayal of relationships in Hum Tum and When Harry Met Sally, The International Journal of Indian Psychology](https://oaji.net/articles/2016/1170-1468260696.pdf)
9. [Hum Tum review by CletusVanDamm, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/cletusvandamm/film/hum-tum/)
10. [18 Years Of Hum Tum EXCLUSIVE: Kunal Kohli, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/18-years-hum-tum-exclusive-people-felt-jab-maine-hrithik-roshan-ke-saath-hit-film-nahi-di-toh-saif-ali-khan-ke-saath-hit-film-kaise-dega-kunal-kohli/)
11. [Yash Raj Films in 2004 - Bigger and Better, Yash Raj Films](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/news/detail/2016/05/20/yash-raj-films-in-2004-bigger-and-better)
12. [List of Awards Won By Hum Tum Movie, Yash Raj Films](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/about-us/awards/all-awards/hum-tum)
13. [When Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukerji were the new Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/saif-ali-khan-and-rani-mukerji-were-the-new-shah-rukh-khan-and-kajol-during-hum-tum-days-7627508/lite/)
14. [16 years of Hum Tum: Kunal Kohli remembers the film, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/16-years-of-hum-tum-kunal-kohli-remembers-saif-and-rani-s-film-it-survived-the-test-of-time-1682809-2020-05-28)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Romance films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license