Ajay Devgn and Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Photo: Friday Filmworks
Ajay Devgn and Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Photo: Friday Filmworks
Ajay Devgn and Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Photo: Friday Filmworks
Ajay Devgn and Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Photo: Friday Filmworks

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha review: A narratively inconsistent love story


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For as long as love stories have existed in Bollywood, Hindi-language films have always depended on the famed status of its recurring onscreen romantic pairs.

If you looked for a list of them, you'd find the globally recognised and commercially viable pairing of Raj Kapoor and Nargis between the 1940s and 60s, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol across the 90s, and more recently, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone across the 2010s.

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, written and directed by Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday!), features one such recurring, albeit highly underrated, onscreen pair.

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

Starring Ajay Devgn (Shaitaan) and Tabu (Crew) in their 10th film together since they were first cast 30 years ago in the Mahabharata-inspired action drama Vijaypath, the film traces the tumultuous lives of star-crossed lovers Krishna and Vasudha.

Having finally been released for good behaviour after serving 22 of his 25-year sentence in prison, Krishna (Devgn), who is set to leave Mumbai forever, decides to spend the evening with Vasudha (Tabu) as we uncover the events that led to, and aftermath of, him serving time.

Tabu and Ajay Devgn in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Photo: Friday Filmworks
Tabu and Ajay Devgn in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Photo: Friday Filmworks

Pandey has tackled a heist movie, three action thrillers and a sports biopic throughout his 16-year career.

With Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, the writer-director takes a stab at a love story that brings a lot of his trademark writing flourishes, key among which is a non-linear narrative where he keeps the cards close to his chest until the right time comes.

Compared to their presence in his more action-focused work, they're not entirely adequate here, but they still help to engage viewers enough throughout its 144-minute running time.

And a lot of why it works is because of its leading pair, who bring a lot of understatement and gut-wrenching sincerity to Pandey's melancholia-tinged story.

Playing the protagonists' younger versions are Shantanu Maheshwari (Gangubai Kathiawadi) and Saiee Manjrekar (Dabangg 3), both of whom are excellent in their lighter, more lovestruck moments.

Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (2024)
Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (2024)

But their admittedly fantastic emotional range cannot make up for a very long, drawn-out moment set to MM Kreem's Ae Dil Zara that feels excruciatingly slow and threatens to completely derail the narrative flow.

The silent devastation that both Devgn and Tabu express in the film's present-day sequences, however, makes up for many heavy-handed attempts by its makers to signal its viewers to be very sad or scared, including, but not limited to, Kreem's background score.

The same for Kathikuloth Praveen's editing, which, while competent throughout, does tend to overplay its hand a lot and could have helped to subvert its erratic flow.

Thankfully, the film has a lot of heart and plays its cards mostly well.

Carefully lacing the narrative with some much-needed melancholia, Pandey manages to take a lot of advantage of his writing – especially in the many quiet exchanges between its older leads towards the end, which could turn its viewers into emotional wrecks.

Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (2024) Photo: Friday Filmworks
Tabu in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (2024) Photo: Friday Filmworks

The writing feels poetic, almost like a classical Hindi-language novel, and is more often than not able to deliver on its style with a firm conviction.

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha isn't the slam-dunk it needed to be.

The film is Pandey's return to feature-length filmmaking six years after his last critically and commercially underperformed effort, 2018's Aiyaary.

In spite of its drawbacks, though, it contains more good than bad throughout its running time, remaining eminently watchable for its bleeding-heart sincerity, if nothing else.

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Gremio Everton 95’

Ticket prices
  • Golden circle - Dh995
  • Floor Standing - Dh495
  • Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
  • Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
  • Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
  • Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
  • Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
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Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

FIXTURES

Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

How to apply for a drone permit
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  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio

Favourite food: Japanese

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Favourite hobby: Football

Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough

Favourite country: UAE

RESULT

Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg

Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)

LIVING IN...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

 

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
War and the virus
The%20end%20of%20Summer
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Salha%20Al%20Busaidy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20316%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20The%20Dreamwork%20Collective%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
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Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

Engine 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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If you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes. 

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes. 

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest. 

 

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%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Diaa%20Jubaili%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Deep%20Vellum%20Publishing%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202-litre%20direct%20injection%20turbo%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%207-speed%20automatic%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20261hp%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20400Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20From%20Dh134%2C999%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

Updated: September 03, 2024, 6:31 AM`