”Hum Do Hamare Do” deals with affection and empathy, says director Abhishek Jain

Mumbai:  Director Abhishek Jain says his film “Hum Do Hamare Do”, which revolves around a man who adopts parents to marry the love of his life, aims to highlight that a family is not always about blood relations.
Jain said the film, which has a stellar cast in Paresh Rawal, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Sanon, has two love stories at its centre.

“With the pandemic, we all felt that spending time with our family is so much more important. There are other (types of) families who have migrated for a friend or neighbour, (they) could be his family. This film deals with the fact that families are not necessarily about relationships made out of blood but by affection and empathy,” the director told PTI in an interview.

“In (a world of) fast-paced globalisation, we are all a family and to be able to empathise with someone whether he is your family member or a stranger is important. The film deals with affection and empathy. It is a message that is not underlined but we are hoping people will take it with them,” he added.

The director, known for his critically and commercially successful Gujarati films like “Bey Yaar” and National Award-winning “Wrong Side Raju”, offers a humorous take on the idea of “Hum Do Hamare Do”, a slogan initially associated with India”s family planning programme.

Jain said tackling two love stories in the film was challenging but Pathak Shah and Rawal helped him overcome his nervousness.

“They made me comfortable and that’s when the collaboration happened. During the preparation stage, they broke the ice and there was no barrier of being a senior. So, if I am not happy with the take, I would be a little hesitant to talk to Paresh sir but he would instantly agree to do another take. Also, with their sheer experience, they enhanced the narrative,” he said.

The director, who has assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali on “Guzaarish”, “Saawariya” and Subhash Ghai on “Yuvvraaj”, said the idea about adopting parents came to him in 2016 but it took him another three years to realise it.

“The concept about adopting parents was novel. If people are less privileged and are abandoned, does society give them the option of adopting parents? That was the idea and that’s how it started.”

During their research for the film, the team stumbled upon a piece of information that stated that in Japan there is a culture of adopting families.

“Japan is a country that has the greatest number of old people and there are young people who are adopting old people.

“When we narrated the idea to them (Rawal and Shah) they found it novel. As we started the film, we collaboratively created this chemistry. They brought a lot of value to the script and narrative,” he said, adding, he is grateful to producer Dinesh Vijan for giving him easy access to Rao and Sanon, who too agreed to come on board.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan”s Maddock Films, the movie will be released on Disney+ Hotstar on October 29.

“Hum Do Hamare Do” also stars Aparshakti Khurana, Manu Rishi Chadha and Prachee Shah Paandya.