The reason why something like Android Kunjappan worked for me was the fact that it was able to address various aspects of a robot entering our routine life. From the obvious humor to the emotional impact such an unemotional entity creates in our minds was presented very sensibly in that film. When it comes to Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, the movie has done a good job of extracting the best humor from the scenario. And since the movie is predominantly in that entertainer space, the situational humor really works. But the issue is when the makers Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah try to create a conflict in this fun idea. With an underdeveloped resolution to the conflict, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya is enjoyable for sure, but not necessarily amusing.
Aryan Agnihotri, a robotics engineer from Mumbai, is the hero of our story and his aunt Urmila is a veteran in the field. She invites him to the US to visit her company. While Urmila was away on a business trip, Aryan hooked up with her assistant Sifra, not knowing that Sifra was actually a robot; Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation. Aryan’s decision to bring Sifra to a typical marriage-obsessed Indian household and the repercussions of that is what we witness in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.
At a time when you can practically chat with ChatGPT to get things done, the idea of placing a robot in the middle of a classic Indian family sounds like a near-practical yet hilarious idea. The conflicts in a regular relationship that is there due to ego, insecurity, etc., won’t be there if your partner is a programmed humanoid. The customizability makes this idea look great on the outside. A larger chunk of the movie is written based on the shock value of such a thing happening. It’s like one of those Priyadarshan comedies where the hero and his friend try to keep a secret from everyone else. But as I said, the conflict in the tale happens really late, and even though the consequences of a malfunction look real, we really don’t get to feel why Aryan is so affected by it.
The intention of Amit and Aradhana is not to create a Her with flesh. It is a typical boy meets girl love story with this tweak of the girl being a robot. The movie’s writing is pretty clear that the conflict will happen due to the malfunctioning of the robot. I think that’s where the narrative takes a safe turn. In an AI-driven space, the fact that Robots can understand even your minute emotional shifts and react accordingly is a space that is emotionally quite challenging. Like, after a point, you might even wonder whether a flawless partner would be boring. There are small moments in the second half of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya that glance at these types of issues, but the obvious potboiler strategy makes it go after the safer fun ways of depicting this story. The songs and their choreography are really catchy.
Shahid Kapoor, in his vivacious, chirpy avatar as Aryan, is lovely to watch, and the palpable energy makes most of the scenes work for us. The character has multiple shades for sure, but the dominant layer is of the cool dude, who dances and has that swagger, and Shahid carried all that pretty effortlessly. The more challenging part here is actually played by Kriti Sanon. Even though it is easy to say that you don’t have to emote like a human being when you are playing a robot, there are certain elements like voice modulation and body language in which you need to maintain consistency, and Kriti did that part really well. The on-screen chemistry of the duo has been the talk ever since the promos were out, and it plays a crucial part in the movie being enjoyable. Dimple Kapadia, Dharmendra, Rakesh Bedi, Rajesh Kumar, Ashish Verma, etc., are the other memorable names in the cast.
The idea of a robot in a dysfunctional family setup has the scope for humor, and the promos of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya gave us glimpses of that. If you are looking for a fun take on that whole idea, I would say this movie from Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah is never really a letdown. The humor in the situations and the energy in the performances cover up the lack of a solid conflict to a good extent.
The humor in the situations and the energy in the performances cover up the lack of a solid conflict to a good extent.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
