You know how you have a feeling that you are highly unlikely to like a film? And you start with confirmation bias looking for things to not like. Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’s title itself tested my bias. And then scene-by-scene it challenged the prejudices I had brought with me despite all my attempts of walking into the theatre with a clean slate. I wouldn’t have thought three hours* later…I would be walking out with a smile in my heart, feeling satisfied at having watched an entertaining and engaging film.

It chooses not to punch down. But, that would be giving it points for not doing what it is not supposed to do in the first place. Deserves a mention, though, doesn’t it?

What was so satisfying? That the writing department was serious about its job. Yeah, that might seem like having low standards. But, it is difficult. To write characters that are consistent; situations that are intriguing; and stories that keep your mind with your body, on the seat. Also, there was subtlety. Sure, the little speech in the last by a cameo performer could have been avoided. But, given the texture of the film, I would give it the benefit of the doubt—that it had more to do with the makers wanting to tell us what is coming next, rather than reconfirming their intent of what we just saw.

The writing walked a step beyond. Even if you haven’t watched the trailer, which I hadn’t, you know what the first 45 minutes of the film are leading up to. A smart-Alec robotics engineer-programmer, Aryan (Shahid Kapoor) is a smart-Alec man too…too cool, too polished, too ‘everything’ for the world around him.

They even go to the extent of him running out of domestic help because of his idiosyncrasies, shooing away the supposedly hottest woman at work who was hitting on him, and administering a questionable experiment on an unsuspecting person. Yes, hard agree—poor choices to set up an unlikeable character. And except for the last one, which subtly was made use of later in the film, I didn’t see the purpose of the other instances of crappiness…except to establish that our man loves black coffee and thinks little of people who add sugar to it.

As I cringed through all of that, I was also being pleasantly surprised by how much the film was showing and doing only very little telling. And then, the real story begins. Aryan finds himself in a situation which makes him question quite a lot about himself. I don’t think it was meant to be a big reveal, because the icon that replaces the ‘O’ in the title itself is a give away. The only reveal is that it is not a coming-of-age film.

So, the set-up is very intentionally obvious. That speaks loads of the confidence the writers have in themselves. Not only are they sure of their story. But they also have no doubts that they know how to show the ‘how’, even if the audience knows the ‘what’.

Once the film gets past its set-up though, the ride is really fun. The almost constant commentary about humanness and Indianness is fun because it is situational and a tad unexpected. Also, of course, because it chooses not to punch down. But, that would be giving it points for not doing what it is not supposed to do in the first place. Deserves a mention, though, doesn’t it?

The writers have no doubts that they know how to show the ‘how’, even if the audience knows the ‘what’.

Just like stars are required to dance well, but I have to say that I could watch Shahid Kapoor’s feet move all day. The fluidity and the choreography are mesmerising. If I didn’t mention that then, I would not mention the performances either. That both Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon are only robotic in their body language and expressions when needed, and are absolutely believable when they are not—would be expected of anyone claiming to act, right? But people who have seen their other films know that it needs to be said when they do regular ol’ romance with a lot more heart than we expect from them.

Yes, Teri Baaton Mein Uljha Aisa Uljha Jiyo (am I the only one worried that she will miss out a word from the title?) is as charming a romantic film as it is a nudge-nudge for us to think about the meaning of relationships and development—together and orthogonal to each other. Just enough to look over the initial hiccups and the awkward climax.

– meeta, a part of the audience