Hum Tum (2022 TV series)

Hum Tum (lit. 'Me and You') is a 2022 Pakistani Ramadan special television comedy drama series, produced by Momina Duraid under her production banner MD Productions. Directed by Danish Nawaz and written by Saima Akram Chaudhry, it aired on Hum TV from 3 April 2022 to 3 May 2022, with the last episode airing on the first day of Eid-ul-Fitr 2022. The series starred Ahad Raza Mir, Ramsha Khan, Sarah Khan and Junaid Khan as leads.

The series revolves around two houses in one neighborhood where one house has intelligent girls while the other possesses good mannered boys. The series met with positive reviews, critical acclaim and praises from audience across Pakistan, India, UAE, UK and Bangladesh.

Plot
Adam Sultan and Neha Qutub ud Din are childhood rivals and neighbors. Adam's elder brother Sarmad is a professional cook and owns a restaurant, and Sarmad has a crush on Neha's elder sister Maha. Maha is fond of yoga and keeping her body in shape and taking care of her diet. Qutub ud Din Neha and Maha's father, pays more attention to Adam than his own daughters since he has always lamented not having a son. Adam, whose own father has neglected fatherly duties of financial and emotional care all their lives, deeply respects and cares for Qutub as well.

Since childhood, Adam and Neha have shared a mutual dislike, constantly bickering and playing pranks. Both Adam and Neha are very intelligent and are liked by all professors in their university except Professor Jabir who dislikes Professor Qutub ud Din and thinks he favors Neha and Adam as he wanted to become the Head of Department of Chemistry. In an attempt to one up each other, Neha and Adam regularly try to get the other in trouble at college and at home. On the result day Adam gets highest GPA while Neha loses her marks because of Professor Jabir as he dislikes her. Neha plans to revenge professor Jabir. Neha asks Sasha, her younger sister, to hack professor Jabir's account. After hacking Neha posts an apology from professor Jabir to her. The dean appreciates professor Jabir's apology, after seeing the post because of this dean approves his Germany research which was denied by the management many times. Going to Germany was professor Jabir's dream.

As a result, Professor Jabir goes off to Germany for research work and is replaced by his own son, Sarim. At Professor Jabir's recommendation of Neha as a brilliant student, Sarim starts spending time with Neha, helping her with her chemistry project with Adam. Adam begins to feel jealous and ignored by both Neha and Qutub in Sarim's presence. Soon, Adam and Sarmad's father Sultan goes to Qutub's house to propose Sarmad and Maha to be wed. At first, Qutub is skeptical about this since Maha is a divorcee but Maha asks her father to do what he thinks is best for her.

At Sarmad and Maha's mehandi, Jabir comes back and asks Qutub for Sarim and Neha to be officially engaged, which Adam overhears and becomes saddened by. Adam then realizes that he has fallen in love with Neha. Qutub asks Neha for her decision regarding Sarim's proposal to which Neha responds positively, to please her father. After Sarmad and Maha's marriage, the preparations begin for Sarim and Neha's wedding, but Neha finds out about Adam's love for her, which bemuses her. Unbeknown to Adam, she uses this opportunity to test Adam's patience and love for her. Through this, Adam and Neha begin to talk and become friends.

At the university, Adam gets into a fight with some people that were insulting Neha. Neha comes in to stop the fight, while Sarim doesn't get involved. At Sarim and Neha's engagement, Neha confronts Adam, but Sarim interrupts. Afterwards, when Sarim takes Neha's hand, hurting her, Neha asks him to let go of her hand. Adam intervenes, but Qutub gets mad at Adam for being disrespectful. Sarim realizes that he isn't worthy of Neha and breaks his engagement with Neha.

Adam meets with Neha after hearing this, and they both confess their love for each other. Then, Sarmad and Maha find out they are having a baby, and they both celebrate. So both couples get their happy ending, with Adam and Neha deciding to be with each other and Sarmad and Maha celebrating their upcoming child.

Main

 * Ahad Raza Mir as Adam "Adi" Sultan - Sultan and Haleema's younger son; Sarmad and Maliha's brother; Tamanna's grandson; Neha's love interest.
 * Ramsha Khan as Neha Qutub ud Din - Qutub and Ulfat's second daughter; Maha and Sasha's sister; Safiullah's granddaughter; Adam's love interest.
 * Junaid Khan as Sarmad Sultan - Sultan's and Haleema's elder son; Adam and Maliha's brother; Tamanna's grandson; Maha's husband.
 * Sarah Khan as Maha Qutub ud Din / Maha Sarmad Sultan - Qutub and Ulfat's eldest daughter; Neha and Sasha's sister; Safiullah's granddaughter; Sarmad's wife.

Recurring

 * Adnan Jaffar as Professor Qutub ud Din - Safiullah's son; Ulfat's husband; Maha, Neha and Sasha's father; Sultan's childhood friend, Neha and Adam's Professor and Head of Chemistry Department.
 * Arjumand Rahim as Ulfat Qutub ud Din: Qutub's wife; Maha, Neha and Sasha's mother.
 * Farhan Ally Agha as Sultan Mansoor - Haleema's husband; Sarmad, Adam and Maliha's father; Qutub's childhood friend.
 * Munazzah Arif as Haleema Sultan - Tamanna's daughter; Sultan's wife; Sarmad, Adam and Maliha's mother.
 * Syed Mohammad Ahmed as Safiullah "Safi" - Qutub's father; Maha, Neha, Sasha's grandfather and a widowed TikToker.
 * Uzma Beg as Tamanna Begum: Haleema's mother - Sarmad, Adam, Mili's maternal grandmother who runs a unsuccessful Marriage bureau.
 * Anoushey Rania Khan as Sasha Qutub ud Din aka "Zombie Virus" - Qutub and Ulfat's youngest daughter; Safiullah's granddaughter; Maha and Neha's sister.
 * Aina Asif as Maliha "Mili" Sultan - Sultan and Haleema's daughter; Tamanna's granddaughter; Sarmad and Adam's sister.
 * Omer Shahzad as Sarim Jabir - Jabir's son; Neha's ex-fiancé.
 * Danish Ali as Umar - Adam's best friend.
 * Ayesha Sohail as Hira - Neha's best friend.

Guest appearances

 * Saife Hassan as Professor Jabir - Qutub's colleague; Sarim's father.
 * Hina Rizvi as Nargis - Safi's failed marriage prospective.
 * Salma Asim as Professor Saleha - Qutub's colleague; Ibtehaj's mother.
 * Ayaz Khan as a Professor at the University.
 * Bilal Cuto as Ibtehaj - Saleha's son; Maha's prospective groom.

Development
In December 2021, writer Saima Akram Chaudhry revealed in an interview that one of her upcoming Ramadan play is titled Hum Tum, which will begin shooting in January. In January 2022, it was reported that Danish Nawaz will direct the series, which made this his second collaboration with writer after the 2021 series Chupke Chupke.

The series is produced by Momina Duraid under her banner MD Productions. It marks Ahad Raza Mir's third and Ramsha Khan's first collaboration with the production house.

Casting
In January 2022, it was reported that Ahad Raza Mir and Ramsha Khan joined the leading cast as Adam and Neha. In February 2022, the casting of Sarah Khan and Junaid Khan was confirmed, in the leading roles, with Khan and Mir.

Besides the leading cast, Arjumand Rahim, Adnan Jaffar, Munazza Arif, Syed Mohammad Ahmed, Uzma Beg and Farhan Ally Agha, Anoushey Rania Khan and Aina Asif, were chosen to portray the supporting roles. It was also confirmed that YouTuber, Danish Ali has joined the cast in a supporting role, marking his television debut.

Filming
The series is primarily set and mainly shot in Karachi. The filming began in January 2022. Filming of the university scenes in the series took place on various locations at the Salim Habib University in Karachi.

Soundtrack
The title song "Hum Tum", is sung by Ali Zafar and Damia Farooq. The song is composed by Naveed Nashad with lyrics written by Qamar Nashad.

Broadcast
Hum Tum was released as a Ramdan special on 3 April 2022 on Hum TV. It aired daily at the time slot of 9:00 pm, with an hour episode. The series is also available on YouTube and on Dailymotion.

International broadcast
Hum Tum was also aired in United Kingdom, United States and United Arab Emirates. It was made available in India and Bangladesh through YouTube.

Critical reception
The series met with mostly positive reviews. It received praises for the cast performances, the portrayal of girls as independent and boys handling kitchen, and for breaking gender stereotypes and tackling issues such as marriage of a divorcee, inheritance division in case of no male heirs and mental health in a light heart manner.

Images Dawn noted, "The series is a 2022, modern and Gen Z rendition of a hate to love story. It has won over viewers with its refreshing content by reversing roles and smashing gender stereotypes." Fuchsia Magazine stated, "Hum Tum is a superb balancing act put together like the work of a music conductor. With all the laughs and smiling moments, did Hum Tum managed to usher in a Naya Pakistan, or at least, the beginnings of it." Something Haute wrote, "Hum Tum has caught our eye with its fresh take on manhood, relatable characters and a humorous plot." Galaxy Lollywood noted, "Hum Tum has its strength in its characters. The most refreshing thing in the show is how it does not indulge in the usual TV friendly gender stereotypes and has characters that actually feel like they belong in the year the drama is based in.

Television ratings
Apart from critical acclaim, Hum Tum was one of the most popular dramas of 2022. The series achieved its highest rating of 5.3 TRP in its 21st episode.

Impact
Hum Tum was ranked by the Pakistani media as one of the best and most watched drama of 2022. Ahad Raza Mir and Ramsha Khan received positive feedback for their portrayal of Adam and Neha, and for breaking various stereotypes. Mir and Khan's pair was termed as one of the most loved on-screen couple of 2022. The Express Tribune added it in its "Best Ramazan Romantic Comedies" list. The series received high praises in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The series has often trended on Twitter and YouTube. It is one of the most watched Pakistani drama series on YouTube with over 600 million views.