Wake up Sid Review

India, getting younger by the day and containing majority percent of youth is well reflected slowly in our parliament and now in our cinemas. As the all-English title suggests, Wake up Sid is coming of age college flick and targeted towards the growing tribe of urban youth. One refreshing point about the movie is that its debutant director being in his mid 20’s has displayed a fairly mature hand in the handling of this movie.

The tone of the movie is set from the very first scene where Sid (Ranbir kapoor) is seen sitting at a study table, late one night studying for his final year exams. He reluctantly picks up an accountancy book keeping aside his music magazines and comic books. He tries to struggle with a question; first reads it out and then tries to make sense of the equation involved and then finally gives up, making audience empathise with the hero as all of us have been through the pain of studying all through our lives. From this scene onwards, the movie maintains a deliberate and almost sleepy pace, unhurried in these rush times and brings a refreshing change.

For Siddhartha Mehra, who is a spoilt and rich lad, life is one big holiday. His activities involve partying relentlessly with his college buddies, and sleeping in late regularly. Sid refuses to become mature and grow up and believes that his chief purpose in life is to spend his dad’s money via credit card. The movie takes a turn when he meets Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), a struggling writer from Kolkata, who is the pole opposite to Sid as she belongs to an ordinary background, has ambitions and dreams and is willing to work towards them. An unlikely friendship strikes between the Duo. Aisha is helped by Sid to move into an old and dirty flat which they do up together and then Sid, following a fight with his father (Anupam Kher) over his aimless ways, moves into the same flat with Aisha, without still going around with her. Aisha soon finds herself a job with a magazine edited by Rahul Khanna whereas all Sid does is mess around in her flat and hangs in there. Slowly, Aisha who is shown older and wiser rubs off on silly and immature Sid, until the point where he is ready to find himself a job. The sequences where their bonding together is seen are very well handled, however the story tends to follow a predictable pattern. The realistic production design and fresh acting makes these sequences worth the watch.

Ranbir has put in a masterly performance as the goofy and charming boy-man who is struggling to find his way in this world. His charming vulnerability coupled with a cheeky wit makes him a superstar material, the kind adored by opposite sex of all ages. You will end up thanking cinema Gods for Konkona Sen Sharma, a talented actress who once again has put in a nuanced performance as we all expect from her. Anupam has played a good real role while Supriya Pathak looked forced with her English act. The college friends cast is fresh; both Shikha Talsania and Namit Das are good in their roles. Oveall, this three-four star rated movie is a fresh change and worth watch. Well done, Sid.

Final Rating in this Wake Up Sid Movie Review- 3.5*** (Out of 5)