Experimental cinema in India has always been a tricky ground to tread. First, it has to stand the test of the bifurcation between art house and commercial, and then whether it is palatable enough for an audience that enters a theater with an abundance of preconceived notions about almost everything. Add to it now, that we have a pretty fragile audience that gets offended by almost anything that doesn’t fit their bill. In this scenario, when a filmmaker places a quirky element in the center of the product, they are bound to be extra alert. Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya now brings a robot and her love story. But we must not forget the movies that have led us to a day where we can see a film like this one happening.

Starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon in the leading roles, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya is a movie directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah. Touted to be an impossible love story, it features Aryan who is in search of a partner. He stumbles upon a girl and falls in love with her during an official tour to the US, only to realize that the woman he has fallen in love with is not human. How things unfold beyond is the movie. The subject that is so quirky has now caught the attention of the masses who are eager to watch the film that is up for release tomorrow, February 9, 2024.

So as we gear up for Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, let's travel back in time and revisit some movies that dealt with science, robots, and everything fantasy, grabbing our frenzy and making us suspend our disbelief. Some films on the list are not really nuanced or great examples of filmmaking but they are definitely some stepping stones for the genre that is still very much a budding one.

Also Read: Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya OTT release – Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon’s love story to stream on THIS platform post theatrical run

Ra-One (2011) 

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Rampal, and an ensemble. 

Director: Anubhav Sinha. 

Available On: Zee5 and Eros Now.

Anubhav Sinha, before he made socially aware movies, was trying his hand at different genres. With Kanika Dhillon and Niranjan Iyengar, he made Ra-One, a movie about a character bouncing out of a video game. Shah Rukh Khan played the leading part against Arjun Rampal as the villain. The movie was a great idea to begin with but lost with the bumpy on-screen translation. However, it taught a thing or two to the filmmaker about the genre. Ra-One is beautiful when it tries to capture the dynamic between Kareena Kapoor Khan and SRK’s game version.

Love Story 2050 (2008) 

Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Harman Baweja, Boman Irani, Archana Puran Singh, and ensemble. 

Director: Harry Baweja 

Available On: Amazon Prime Video.

Harry Baweja decided to take the biggest leap when he decided to make a movie about a future where cars fly and ready beats talk in 2008. The film was so ambitious that you could see it burying itself bit by bit under its weight. Love Story 2050 comes closest to the concept of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya where a guy in love is up against technology and wants to mend it to keep his love intact. It will be fun to see how the Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon starrer update the syntax.

Koi... Mil Gaya (2003)

Cast: Rakesh Roshan. 

Director: Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Rekha, Rajat Bedi, and an ensemble.

 Available On: Zee5.

Who isn’t a fan? Koi... Mil Gaya introduced us all to Aliens in Indian movies. We all wanted to meet Jadoo and wanted Rohit's computer to call him on Earth. Koi... Mil Gaya might be the most revolutionary movie that came out of Rakesh Roshan’s mill and the movie changed many things for Hindi cinema. It was ahead of its time but was also rooted in the year it was released. There was something for everyone and it still holds the ground if you plan to re-watch. It is the correct example of an experimental yet very nostalgic movie.

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Robot/Enthiran (2010)

Cast: Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa, and an ensemble. 

Director: S. Shankar. 

Available On: NA.

When Rajinikanth decides to become a Robot you do nothing but sit down and see him pull out a hundred hands out of his body and shoot weapons with all of them. He is Rajinikanth, he can be human and do all of that and we won’t complain. And in that case, here was a robot. The S. Shankar directorial had fascinating written all over it when it was released in 2010 because it also worshipped the megastar it cast and was also a film that had a robot in the center of it all.

2.0 (2018)

Cast: Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, and an ensemble. 

Director: S. Shankar. 

Available On: Amazon Prime Video.

While the magic of Robot couldn’t travel to 2.0, the movie was set on a much bigger canvas. Chitti – The Robot was back to save the world, and this time against Akshay Kumar, who was a man who hated cell phones for some reason. As unintentionally funny as the antagonist came across, the visuals were indeed quite great. Rajinikanth, as usual, was the center of attraction, and fans had enough to be content with.

Mr India (1987)

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Amrish Puri, and an ensemble. 

Director: Shekhar Kapur. 

Available On: Zee5.

Technically, Mr. India is where the country realized one can have science as the genre and still have a commercial movie made that goes on to become one of the most successful projects of its time. No one can ever forget the watch; Sridevi is iconic, and Amrish Puri is etched in our memories as Mogambo. The Shekhar Kapur directorial was an all-rounder and had something for every kind of audience. They don’t make such movies anymore.

Krrish 3 (2013)

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Vivek Oberoi, and an ensemble.

Director: Rakesh Roshan.

Available On: Sony Liv.

While Krrish is a superhero story and one that completely lost track in the third movie, what can possibly explain what Kangana Ranaut exactly was in the film? A shape-shifter who also has some mechanical powers, but is also kind of an animal fantasy superhuman. Whatever that was, it was quirky and deserves to be on this list. A conversation around Krrish 4 has been on for a long while.

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