Hindustan Times
Wake up, lovers
I am so delighted that Wake Up Sid has got such glowing reviews. Everyone has – very rightly – exclaimed over the fact that the director is so young and the performances so good. The music has come in for a lot of praise too, as has the very fresh, young feel of the film.
It’s also been hailed as one of the best coming of age films we’ve seen in recent years. And I agree with all these sentiments. But what struck me most of all when I saw the film was this: I kept thinking how wonderful it was to see a film where the relationship between the lead pair was played out so naturally, with such nice nuances.
For the longest time, we’ve had the ‘hero’ and the ‘heroine’ falling in love at first sight and talking about janam janam ka saath, or the gareeb hero taming the spoilt and shrewish rich heroine, or the two of them falling prey to the most idiotic misunderstandings or fighting a zaalim zamana opposed to their pavitra rishta etc etc. Very rarely did we get to see a film where the love story was, well, like love stories usually are.
In Wake Up Sid, I liked the way Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen meet, then go on to become unlikely friends, and eventually discover they’re in love with each other. The tension, the irritation with each other, the sudden flare-ups, the moments of fun and togetherness: everything was handled so delicately. Sid and Aisha’s relationship is based on the kind of people they are and not on extraneous factors like parental opposition or societal disapproval.
I’m not suggesting that you can’t have a love story where the lovers are shown dealing with all these things, but (a) we’ve seen them in our films for years and years and (b) if it has to be shown, it must be depicted in a fresh way (not with those cliched scenes of girls being thrown into their rooms with the father thundering, “Aaj se tumhara bahar jaana band!” (I’m sure there are fathers who do this even today, but you have to find less hackneyed ways of showing it).
There have been a few other films too where the lead pair’s love story has been depicted in an interesting way. Take Luck By Chance. Farhan Akhtar and Konkona’s story was told very well – and intriguingly, without the customary happily-ever-after ending. Or Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. I liked Imran Khan and Genelia’s friends-turn-lovers tale.
So is it finally goodbye to those cardboard love stories? And a big hello to more nuanced prem kahaanis?
I hope so!
(7 votes, average: 4.43 out of 5)
Loading ...Posted by Poonam Saxena on Monday, October 5, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Filed under Pop Culture · Tagged coming of age films, film, fresh, hero, heroine, Konkona Sen, love story, nuances, Ranbir Kapoor, Wake Up Sid, young
I am yet to see it..but i m sure it rocks…i m a big konkana fan:)
Art imitates life..as everyone says…i guess..so more an more people from an urbane point of view are making films which an average person would identify with…and it would be such a nice feeling to watch some identifiable characters(except the part that ranbir is shown super rich, many of us cudnt identify with that.)…but the delusions and dilemma of youth are totally identifiable i guess!!
yeah i doubt WUS will get viewers in small towns or villages..where the zalim zamana and father threatening still rules..lol..but then the film is not intended for them…
I would differ on music though..though its young but certainly not fresh..we have heard all those SEL tunes in their earlier attempts..except the “iktara” song..and thats not by SEL..still the music is very good..but fresh..may not be!
I just wish unlike the very differrent and very refreshing Luck by chance, which didnt set the cash registers ringing at BO, this shud be a hit….bombay-mumbai bakwas not withstanding;)…at least in metros..so that filmmakers get encouraged to make more such films..
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Wake up sid is the kind of movie that gets better with time. On friday, just after watching the movie, I had given it a rating of 3.5, but on sunday, after I had watched The ugly truth with the same person, I decided that wake up sid is the kind of movie that stays with you much longer than a movie like ugly truth which delivers plenty of laughs but lacks substance. Just as you referred to luck by chance and jaane tu, which showed their longevity in the viewers mind, I think wake up sid is also that kind of a movie.
Another thing I really liked about the movie were the wacky T-shirts worn by Sid. I am pretty sure it is going to start off a lasting fashion movement unlike the short-lived ghajini hairstyle fashion movement.
And though Konkona somehow did not seem that well paired with a good looking and charming Ranbir Kapoor, but in the end she won us over with the genuineness of her acting and charector.
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
I know, what a collection of T shirts!!! But the one I liked the best was worn by Sid’s domestic help — the Mr Happy T shirt. I used to read all the Mr books to my son when he was small — they are soo much fun (Mr Forgetful and Mr Worry were the best)
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haven’t watch the movie, but by going by you will not watch it either. u surely like coz it was karan johar movie,other wise u wouldn’t have gave a damn about this movie.where u applaud the new wave of bollywood movie”dostana” where in this movie they had made all kind of crude joke about gays. ones seema goswami had put this also in brunch that film industry all over made fun of jokes, and we call them funny
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 10:29 am
What is this obsession with me allegedly liking all movies that have anything to do with Karan Johar? I liked Wake Up Sid because it’s nice and refreshing, period.
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Aashish Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
yeah dude, for a change watch this movie…..forget it is produced by Karan Johar…..no one watches movie coz it is produced by ’someone’
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anurag Reply:
October 7th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
yeah dude, not every one but more people watch seeing who is behind the production, just watch kamineey coz it was made by vishal bhardwaz or watch “ingloriuos ********” coz it was made by quantan trantino. wake up sid is poor copy of dch hai,nor the director has talent of farhan akhtar and nor ranbeer had talent for akshay,amir and saif talent
I loved Wake Up Sid, too! It was funny, fresh, vibrant, and refreshing! I think Konkona and Ranbir suited their roles to a T.
Did you notice how they finally cast an obese female in a normal (not caricaturish) role? That made the film so much more believable!
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
That’s right, she was just a normal girl with a weight problem, not a fat girl, always the butt of tasteless jokes (as happens in so many films — remember the sick scene of Akshay Kumar getting ’searched’ by a large black woman in Kambakkht Ishq?)
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The recipe for Wake up Sid is simple. Watch DCH……make on character from three characters & top it up with Lakshya’s main theme.
In the movie, Siddarth or Sid is clueless about his career (Aakash of DCH, Karan of Lakshya), falls in love with a girl older to him (Sid of DCH) & is confused about his love feelings (Sameer of DCH). And of course, he has a strict father (Boman of Lakshya) & a loving mother (the usual Hindi movie Mom). How different na…
Looks like the critics have rated the movie for its banner & the girls are falling for Ranbir’s charm. Sorry boys…..no eye candies for us….unless u like a typical Bengali lass.
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Generally any movie that makes me walk out of a hall wearing a smile has served its purpose…and this was one surely did! Amazingly this just wasn’t a love story, it was also about two people figuring out their identity in a blurry world, and happen to fall in love with their prime support system.
Its great because its so today, so now. Realistic cinema, with all the important ingredients that distinguishes it from being an ‘arty’ film. You have the stars, the songs (Iktara is a soul-stirrer, kudos to the guys responsible for it), the drama (parents et al), the big bungalows and cars; and you have the reality of crushes on bosses, of moving to metros to find yourself, of making a home out of a box with second hand furniture, break-ups, weight issues, love for the monsoons etc
Of course Koko’s Manish Malhotra dresses’ and ten inch heels do tend to throw one off ;).
But apart from that the feeling of being on your own and making the relevant sacrifices is extremely relatable.
And the chemistry amongst the stars looks warm and real enough and adds strength to the screenplay. Its simplicity directed with elegance & confidence
Just one thing though- Koko’s character and style looks similar to the one in Luck By Chance…a great actress shouldn’t be falling into a stereotype
And Akshaydatt: the t-shirts were fab!!! i so want them
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Diva, I liked the offbeat pairing of Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona, and it actually worked on screen! But you are right about Konkona’s character being slightly similar to the one she played in Luck By Chance. It’s just that she’s so good at these very ‘believable, real, normal’ kind of roles. I can’t think of anyone else who could have played Aisha’s role with that degree of ease.
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Diva Reply:
October 7th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Agreed…no one else would have worked as Aisha
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bollywood is getting ‘cool’ with such movies. And maddy ‘lakshay’ and ‘WUS’ are very different movies, where in lakshay, hritik went back to academy to prove his father and girlfriend, WUS was more of discovering ur passion, and akshay-dimple story is different than ranbir-konkana…
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
In Dil Chahta Hai, the script made much of the fact that Dimple was older than Akshaye. In Wake Up Sid, it’s hardly an issue. No one is going, ‘Oh God, she’s older than him! How will people accept them?’ etc etc
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Nice movie! I saw it yesterday. i thought i won’t like it at all after lakshya, dch etc. but it turned out to be refreshing nonetheless. i also looooooooved Ranbir’s tees so much. The movie wasn’t preachy n that made the difference n sid, aisha, rishi n lakshmy were so real…i actually could identify all the characters with me n my frenz.!!!
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For people who’ve seen Wake Up Sid, how would you compare the experience with Dil Chahta Hai? Better, worse?
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For the all the talk about meterosexual boy, Aisha as a meterosexual girl rocks. Konkona’s nose is very sexy. Unneccesary controversy with “Bombay” has genereated more interest in the film. Get a lurking feeling that, K Jo has purposely apologised for the sake of publicity. DCH number is more hummable.
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Whoa Woken Up Dude! That was the expression I felt after watching –Wake Up Sid.
If you ask me in one line to describe the movie it would be “Misti Prem er golpo” that is a sweet love tale. The debutant director has approached the story in simple style though not using the modern techno nuances of abrupt cuts, color transitions and gizmo editing style while linking to another scene, which has become a trendy trade mark in all new movie cuts.
All the more every scene had a follow through; there was a link just as in a story while turning a page you can relate to the sequence. And every character has been given a role which they have justified in their screen presence.
The movie justly says- “it’s better to write about things you feel than about things you know about.”
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Continuing with the prem kahani theme but on an entirley different note, has anyone seen Chintuji?
I thought it a delightful comedy where the side romance was done rather nicely.
Any views?
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Atul, I think the makers tried their best to keep the release of Chintuji a deep and dark secret from audiences. No one had any clue when it released and by the time they found out, it had gone. Pity. A couple of other friends also told me they liked it.
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is it to do anything with my age or what?unlike most of the contributors to this blog,i found konkona quite sensual.In fact she is far sexier and attractive than ranbir,whom i found too choclatee.
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shweta Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
y wats ur age?
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I thought it was a nicely done movie. But don’t you think that the struggle was too airbrushed to be actually real?
I mean, Konkona comes to this new city, and within a few months she has an airy apartment, her dream job and a hot boss who asks her out. I mean, how on earth did she afford such an apartment in Mumbai on her limited budget?
Also, when Sid was kicked out of his house, there was no real sense of despair, na? He got the first job he applied to. And it took him only a few days to figure out what he wanted out of his life.
These were some of the thoughts which irked me through a rather likeable film. I especially liked the acting. Each person was just right for his/her part. And acted brilliantly.
Your thoughts on this?
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Yes, of course, it was airbrushed. But I didn’t mind that because I found the characters real and believable — despite the ‘unrealness’ of the struggle. Most Hindi films are not ‘real’ in that sense, specially not the older ones — for instance, remember those old village movies, where everything was quite unreal, from the gaon ki gori in her ghaghra choli perpetually chewing ganna, to the pardesi babu falling in love with her… Yet, viewers got involved in their stories. Because though the setting etc may have been unreal, the emotions weren’t. When the village belle was abandoned by the city boy, that emotion of betrayal and pain was real. You could say we have emotional realism in our films — that’s why they work all over the world ( Asia and Africa, primarily, the white world still can’t relate to them, though in some countries — like Germany — Hindi films are very popular).
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Hi, i also liked Wake up sid very much, from d fact that i have seen it two times, what i liked in the film is I really can identify with the characters in the film, the group which Sid has, its my kind of group you know and seeing Konkona is like seeing yourself in the flesh as i also want to work in a magazine and write articles and can hope for the handsome boss also,,,,,lloz.
But if these kinds of films are in d making, i am sure Bollywood is progressing.
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