‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’ movie review: A social experiment with the heart of a sitcom

Star Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Dharmendra, Dimple Kapadia, Rakesh Bedi, Anubha Farehpuria, Rajesh Kumar

Director: Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya Movie: Story

Aryan (played by Shahid Kapoor) is an ambitious robotic engineer. His dedication to his profession is such that he even gets nightmares of marrying a robot. He’s a workaholic and has no time for love until his aunt Urmila calls him to the US to show him her robotic world. In the US, he meets SIFRA, aka Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation (played by Kriti Sanon). Aryan is mesmerised by SIFRA and falls in love without realising she’s a machine.

When Aryan discovers SIFRA is a robot and gets heartbroken, he taps into the ‘Kabir Singh’ mode. On the other hand, his family constantly pressurises him to get married. Aryan, controlled by his feelings, decides to introduce SIFRA as his girlfriend. We then have to wait and watch to see the conclusion of this strange love story.

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya Movie: Script Analysis

Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah have come together to treat us with this peculiar love story between a human and a robot. However, it’s a known concept only sometimes presented on celluloid. The first half is packed with romance between Aryan and SIFRA. Everything feels good until we see the duo get physically intimate. That’s when you start questioning the logic. Aryan, who holds so much pride about his job, works with the robots day and night; how could he not figure out he slept with a machine? If I remember correctly, we see the machine parts in the climax scene if the robot gets wounded. How did the touch not make Aryan feel it’s something different?

For the sake of storytelling and the plot to progress, I am okay with giving up on logic. However, it sometimes felt like the movie was also an extended cigarette commercial. There’s a scene where Aryan teaches SIFRA the act of “sutta marna” (to smoke). But the first half consists of several such scenes where the sutta (cigarette) becomes the topic of discussion. The second half is dragged to boredom. It’s like with a cigarette; if you take an unnecessary long drag as a beginner, chances are you might cough. Similarly, it’s the first time Amit and Aradhana have presented us with a story like this. They’ve pushed it so much, adding additional visible bumps to their chaotic narrative.

The second half puts a big pause on the love story and focuses on the typical family drama. Sometimes, it’s funny, but mostly, it is unimpressive. The movie becomes a wedding show, taking us through every essential ritual. When it’s not doing the shaadi talks, we’re reminded again that SIFRA is a robot. The makers then add several subplots to show the flaws in their “perfectly” built love story. However, these issues are presented in such haste that the impact of these incidents hardly lasts.

The last 30 minutes take a serious leap in storytelling. But it is something that you see coming. After all, how else will they conclude the “hatke love story”? I won’t lie; I sometimes had fun mainly because of how Kriti acted and talked. But hints about this are dropped in the beginning and in between. So, you aren’t amazed. What also irked me was to see Dimple’s character, Urmila, a woman who runs such a big robotic company in the US, stand clueless and helpless like a random person who has zero knowledge about machines.

Another disappointing aspect is the sexist shaadi jokes, thrown mostly at a woman. Aryan doesn’t leave a chance to pass insulting remarks about his friend’s married life, often villainising the person’s wife. The friend has a police siren as a ringtone when his wife calls him. The wet towel and wife “controlling” your life jokes aren’t even funny anymore. It’s startling to see such lines added in a film that caters to modern technology and aims to convey a progressive romantic tale to the audience.

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya Movie: Star Performance

Kriti Sanon impresses you with her performance as SIFRA. As a robot, she has to keep zero expressions on her face. Considering she's a good actor, it might not have been easy not to show any facial expressions. When SIFRA has to “act” something, it has to be strange compared to how humans behave. Kriti got the nuances right and intrigues and entertains you. She shines the most during the climax scene.

Shahid Kapoor entertains as Aryan and has a certain charisma when he plays characters like this. The actor delivers a fantastic performance and balances it out for the absence of expressions on Kriti’s face. However, Aryan is quite annoying at times, and Shahid is so convincing in displaying that you get irritated with his character’s traits.

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya Movie: Direction, Music

Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah penned a fascinating tale, and to some extent, they managed to bring their story to life on screen. However, their story has so many elements that are not enjoyable. While their vision of presenting Kriti convincingly as a robot succeeds, everything else is underwhelming. The family drama and the outdated and sexist jokes are not fun to watch.

The movie features four songs, one before the end credits roll in. The song Laal Peeli Akhiyaan, composed by Tanishk, is already a hit, and the visuals look splendid on screen. Apart from this, the title track gets you hooked in the end. The other two songs are forgettable.

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya Movie Review: Conclusion

Overall, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya has the lead stars delivering good performances. It makes you laugh sometimes but tests your patience a lot. There’s very little love story to enjoy amidst the cigarette talks, wedding drama, forced family jokes, and sexist remarks.