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Saturday, October 3, 2009

45. Wake Up Sid - the review




A Word From The Author

When the world is hopping from Skoda Laura to Audi, a scooter ride isn't really what one goes back to. But anyday more appealing to me, than a car drive. I love the feeling of the wind blowing through my open ears and my hair flying in all directions... Somehow, at that point of time, the blob of facewash that is gonna go in order to remove all that dirt and grime and hours of conditioning that my hair would require later didn't quite make its entry into my nimble brain that time.. There's so much freedom in the open air! So off we went.

You don't have much scope on the TV on Gandhi Jayanti when they have decided to repeat Lage Raho Munnabhai and Gandhi everytime the calendar shows Oct 2.

OK, so once in a while, all of us get lucky and yesterday was my day. Defying the worth of Murphy and his laws, MY queue TOO moved pretty decently. What followed was an intense discussion amidst a solid state of confusion between the guy at the counter and my dad. Aah! So my dad had asked for tickets for 'What's up Sid?'. How can dads get the movie name almost always wrong? Beats me. Obviously, the poor guy at the counter couldn't decide upon whether it was 'What's ur raashee?' or 'Wake Up Sid!' that we wanted! Blame me and my sis for that, I say. Who asked us to turn the world upside down early morning debating over which one to watch of the two. My dad has this uncanny knack of guessing movies tht have Saif starring. It was just the other day that they were showing trailers of 'Love Aaj Kal' on the TV. And he promptly said,"Arre, Salaam Namaste!" :D

THE REVIEW

Um.. So let's see.. KJo has managed to come up with this extremely novel plot this time up.... Sid is this really cute bacchha(read slacker), who is unaware of the vagaries of life and is busy happily spending his dad's not-to-mention hard earned money on parties, friends and what not. And somehow, things happen that transform him into this responsible young man. Oh so unexpected!

 But all said and done, the movie, though very predictable from a broader perspective, doesn't fail to strike a chord with you instantly. For bits and pieces, it reminds one of Dil Chahta Hai. Maybe Lakshya too. So much so that it might sound cliched now. Don't believe it. It's like none of the two. Like any other KJo movie, this one too had brilliant colours, that cannot escape your eye. The tinge of creativity that shades the theme deserves a good applause. One gets to see a bunch of new faces like Rishi(Namit Das) and Laxmi(Shikha Talsania), who have done good justice to their roles with neat acting. Perfect.

This is Ayan Mukherji's directorial debut for you.

Aisha(Konkona Sen) is an aspiring writer and a newbie to Mumbai and its ways. She finds her first friend in Sid, who though is very very different from her and her independence-seeking self, is honest, sweet and fun-loving. Sid's life revolves around his best buds, Rishi and Laxmi and all is breezy till one day he is thrown out of his dad's house(and obviously property). And the rest is so known.

Few moments in the movie take your breath right away. Aisha's birthday celebration with Sid's bread cake, for one. You hear yourself going, "Awww....!". Rishi's and Sid's laughter moment on Rishi's break up, for another. And when he finally gets the omlette right.

The movie lost me at the climax when Sid reads the mag to find out how Aisha feels for him. But hadn't she shown him the article before itself, where he makes suggestions and edits to the story, which later get appreciated by the editor? There is an outlined mismatch.

Sid sweeps you off your feet and into his world very naturally. Most certainly, he is sure to remind you of your college days. And more so, 'coz he has mastered the art of sending across the message so realistically. Konkona Sen, needless to mention, gives the movie its calming effect with effortless yet stupendous performance. Both of them definitely look great together and the onscreen chemistry quotient is very high. But better as friends, maybe. An awesome-looking Rahul Khanna could have been used in a better way. He hasn't been given much scope in the movie. Anupam Kher, as usual, is wonderful. Supriya Pathak is nice in her own way, though a stronger connection between the mum and the son could have been portrayed. Kashmeera Shah has well-delivered her bit. The Mumbai Beats office and Aisha's house are a piece of icing on the cake. Brilliant and award-worthy creativity and an eye for detail there. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is melodious. 'Iktara' is simply amazing.

The movie is sure to be a hit amongst its target urban audience. Anywhere between a 3.5 to 4 for sure.



19 comments:

  1. @Jai,

    This is acknowledgement of your comment.

    I am sorry I had to delete the previous post due to some editing problems. There went your comment even before I saw it! :)

    So I am posting it here for the benefit of the readers.

    "Have taken your 'humble request' seriously.

    I like the flow with which you place your thoughts... very mature, witty, gripping, easy to read, with a little gibberish thrown in every now and then. That's the mark of a good writer. :)

    You've convinced me to take in 'Wake up Sid', the first chance i get.

    Happy Blogging!"


    Thank you and enjoy Wake Up Sid! :)

    Cheers,

    Anu

    ReplyDelete
  2. C'est bien. Merci beaucoup :)

    Cheers,
    Jai

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like it's review season, with almost everyone writing reviews of the movie. (I wonder, are these guys paying bloggers to publicise the movie? Am I missing out? :( )

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Sumit,

    Review season happens after every darned movie, good or bad, worth or watch or not! And isn't just bloggers too :)

    Will let u know if I get a remuneration for this btw! :P

    ReplyDelete
  5. Our film Critic, Bharadwaj Rangan has also given it a good review. You might wanna check out

    http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Jude,

    Thanks for the link. I thought I would end up changing my review of the movie after I read that one!

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  7. here through AJCL aparna's blog

    thats a nice review, havent seen the movie but I think It seems a nice movie from your review.

    That was witty what your father did at the counter :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. hey first time here :) nice review...wanted to see the movie this weekend but missed out..ur review makes it more compelling to watch :) wats up sid :D LOL :D ithu sooperu

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Srivats,

    Welcome here, first of all! :)

    Go grab a ticket! But do read this 'also' before you decide on watching. You might just withdraw your opinion :) http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/

    My dad, geez, yeah! :|

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Gils,

    Welcome here! :)

    Something tells me I have been giving ideas to people that I am promoting the movie! :P You'll see a disclaimer on the post soon :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. well gal... the climax has somethin tat u din observe..... Aisha says in a kinda mini-flashback thingy where she sits and writes out a whole new story when he is asleep and tat gets published...... not the one she showed him...prolly the old one wasnt written in a proposal kinda way....

    ReplyDelete
  12. me likes the way u write and more importantly liked the review.. glad i chanced on ur blog..

    ReplyDelete
  13. @V.V.,

    Yeah, my sis too disagreed with me on that! Anyway, I am giving u all some food for thought(and observation too, maybe!) :P

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey Aparna,

    Thank you so much! :) Welcome here!

    ReplyDelete
  15. @1st comment on this post: "So I am posting it here for the benefit of the readers...." - really? for OUR benefit?? LOL :P

    which brings me to the movie. I was really expecting too much out of it I guess (can you blame me? look at my name!). was very disappointed, almost to the point of actually falling asleep (true story, you can ask the people who went with me and were saying 'Wake Up Sid!). Could've been shorter and a lot more entertaining. loved the artwork though. didn't actually read your review, but am sure it was good ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. "How can dads get the movie name almost always wrong? Beats me."

    Believe me these things happen.
    I clearly remember going up to the book stall and asking "IV std Navin Nischol hai kya?" which should have been "IV std Navin Vachan hai kya?"
    And in those days Navin Nischol was THE actor and Amitabh used to work as supporting actor in his movies.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sid,

    Fine, fine! :) For my (and mmine alone!) benefit,ok? *Vanity, thy name is Anu :P)

    If you would have only waited till now, you would have earned yourself free tickets to the movie.. FYI, Johar is distributing free tickets to anyone with the name Siddharth.. some promotion gimmick... Now that I know you wouldn't care, but still... That way it atleast is paisa vasool :)

    Thanks for taking time to comment without even reading the review :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Haddock,

    Haha. Too much! :) Navin Nischol, the Dekh Bhai Dekh guy no? :) I used to like his acting.... But now, you hardly get to see him even on small screen...

    ReplyDelete

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