No surprises here

Sheetal

It’s all about the right pairing on screen and the lead actors of ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’, Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, show us how to do it with a predictable script and 20 per cent of the budget of ‘Fighter’ (Rs 250 crore). As directors of late have gone defensive regarding any criticism, we just wish to put out that ‘majority of Indians (not even 1 per cent) do not fall in love with a robot’. Yet, the chemistry between Shahid and Kriti makes the story as human as possible.

While the trailer gave away its essence, the film had no surprises, except for a cameo appearance in the climax, leaving a ‘to be continued’ tale for another day. Shahid plays Aryan, a robotics engineer and the only inconvincible part of the plot was him not being able to judge that he had fallen in love with a robot. Kriti as Sifra has managed to excel in all quarters, especially tricking Aryan by pulling off as a machine in human skin. Kudos to the costume designer, her trainer, dietician and make-up artiste. Kriti impresses. As for Shahid, you see shades of Kabir Singh in the opening scenes when he interacts with his maid but then slips into the role of a lover boy and family man. While Shahid had a range of emotions to play, Kriti’s job was to maintain human emotions with the goof-ups any machine would commit. Her choreographed performance, especially in the climax, is a show stealer, not to forget her fake laugh.

Among the supporting cast, Dharmendra and Dimple Kapadia get more screen space, but it is good to see forgotten faces like Rakesh Bedi and Rajesh Kumar too. Dimple as Aryan’s maasi looks ravishing. Shahid and Dimple’s bonding on robots is believable but needed a more convincing performance as family. The only time Shahid overacts is around Dimple. The editing could have been better.

The movie only touches upon robotics for the first 15 minutes and then the focus shifts to it being a rom-com and a family entertainer. In between, the writer adds common IT jargon such as malware, motherboard and unresolved programs/tasks!

But what remains the film’s weakness also becomes its strength, for it depicts the family entertainer part well. Shahid and Kriti should do more films together. As for a sequel, it can wait until they have a solid story. ‘Teri Baaton Mein…’ is a light-hearted watch for the weekend. Also, watch out for its catchy songs, lovely choreography and some fab wardrobe choices for the wedding season.