Wake up Sid - some thoughts

Wake up Sid, broadly speaking, has that freshness about it. It’s not the usual mushy Karan Johar flick with loads of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai-isk overdose of melodrama. The plot is simple, real and narrated as simply with no luxurious foreign locales or extravagantly shot numbers, not even for the glamour element. (Though the temptation to do that could have been too strong to resist and would spoil the whole effect of the movie)

Ranbir Kapoor, i think, greatly contributes to the fresh appeal of the film. It’s time that middle-aged men stopped playing college lads in Karan Johar’s films and someone young stepped into their shoes. None of Ranbir’s previous films have worked too well so he is not yet typecast. He perfectly fits the bill of a careless, spoilt-brat-of-a-rich-dad with no aim in life. His verve and spirit of partying and having fun add sparkle to the character. But, thankfully, his transformation is realistic through photography, which is one of his passions. It would be very unrealistic to show him succeed in his father’s business or through a 9-5 job.

Konkana Sen Sharma, unfortunately doesn’t match Ranbir’s fresh appeal. She is as brilliant as ever in her art but we have seen her to many times as the wannabe independent girl in pursuit of finding and maintaining her own identity. (Life in a Metro and Page 3, Luck by Chance are cases in point). Manish Malhotra also doesn’t seem to be too impressive in dressing her up. She’s in boring kurtis all through the film (ok, the glamour quotient is on the lower side in the film, unlike other KJo movies) and she could have been given a better look considering that she is the main lead here and its a commercial film.

Anupam Kher’s performance needs no words of praise as a helpless father of a truant son who refuses to grow up. I have no clue how Kashmera Shah or the old landlady add to the plot. Rahul Khanna is great in his cameo as the editor of Mumbai Beat and looks quite mature.

The portrayal of emotions is quite subtle in the movie. You just feel the helplessness of a father or the growing friendship between two people of opposite sex. i like the pace at which their relationship grows gradually and doesn’t presume love or sexual tension between the two right from the beginning. Sid coming of age is also brought out with ease through his struggle to mend his ways as circumstances force him to do that.

Of course, you see the usual KJo strokes in the revamp of an entire house by the leading lady even wen she doesn’t even have a job. I mean you can afford to paint and furnish your entire house and still afford to pay the rent for a Mumbai property even before you earn “apne paise” only if you have a producer’s deep pockets supporting you.

Overall it’s a great movie with a fusion of fun and emotion. It's worth watching.