"Hum Saath Saath Hain 11" is about agency . A cricket team—or any sports team—is not bound by blood. Its members come from different castes, creeds, states, and economic backgrounds. One might speak Tamil, another Punjabi, a third Bengali. One might be a devout believer, another an agnostic. On the field, these differences dissolve into the 22 yards of sacred turf. The number 11 is the great equalizer. It is the jersey number of the collective self.
Director Sooraj Barjatya is known for wearing his influences on his sleeve. While his previous film, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! , was a modern retelling of the wedding rituals, Hum Saath Saath Hain draws heavily from the epic Ramayan .