Wake Up Sid
| Wake Up Sid | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ayan Mukerji |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Niranjan Iyengar (dialogue) |
| Screenplay by | Ayan Mukerji |
| Story by | Ayan Mukerji |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
Songs: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Amit Trivedi Background Score: Amit Trivedi |
| Cinematography | Anil Mehta |
| Edited by | Shan Mohammed |
| Distributed by | |
Release date | 2 October 2009 |
Running time | 138 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Wake Up Sid is a 2009 Indian coming of age comedy drama film.[1] Directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, the film was distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, with visual effects contributed by the Prime Focus Group.[2] The film takes place in contemporary Mumbai and tells the story of spoiled, careless, rich-kid Sid Mehra (Ranbir Kapoor), a college student who is taught the value of owning up to responsibility by Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), an aspiring writer from Kolkata. It was a critical and commercial success. Both Kapoor and Sharma won rave reviews for their performances, and Kapoor received awards and nominations for his acting.
Plot
Sidharth "Sid" Mehra (Ranbir Kapoor) is the carefree son of wealthy businessman Ram Mehra (Anupam Kher) and Sarita (Supriya Pathak) in Mumbai. Depicted as a spoiled slacker, Sid shows little concern for his plans after college, barely studying for tests and having no interest in working for his father. At the farewell party after the final exams, he meets Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), an aspiring writer recently moved away from her hometown of Calcutta, who happens to be one of his college mate’s roommate. They decide to go for a small walk and strike a chord instantly. With the help of Sid, along with his friends Rishi (Namit Das) and Laxmi, Aisha finds a small apartment overlooking the city skyline. She also lands a job at Mumbai Beat (based on Time Out! Mumbai), a hip magazine run by editor-in-chief Kabir (Rahul Khanna), to whom Aisha is instantly attracted.
Soon afterwards, Sid learns that he has failed the final exams (delaying his graduation for another year). Sid displaces his frustration onto Rishi, and later gets into a heated argument with his parents, ending with him hastily moving out. Aisha allows Sid to temporarily stay at her apartment, but finds him disorganized and careless with her home. One night, Aisha loses her temper and yells at Sid for his inability to look after himself. The next morning, Sid confides in Aisha that he now realizes his constant dependence on his father’s wealth, a realization that persuades him to seek work. Aisha helps him land a role as a photography intern – photography having been a hobby of his since childhood – at Mumbai Beat.
The internship slowly motivates Sid to be more responsible and productive. He helps out with chores, an internal change visible to all around him. He reconciles with Rishi when they meet again for the first time since their fight. Sid eventually gets hired full-time at Mumbai Beat and receives his first paycheck. He immediately goes to visit his father to show him the paycheque and he nostalgically asks Sid to return home. In the meantime, Aisha and Kabir start dating, but she quickly realizes that, despite her initial attraction to him, they have very little in common. Aisha also dislikes Sid's closeness with the designing intern Tanya (Kainaz Motivala). This leads Aisha to develop feelings for Sid, and on the day he packs his belongings to move back in with his family, she is furious to hear that he is leaving. Confused and hurt, unaware that Aisha has fallen in love with him, Sid makes his departure.
Back at home, Sid keeps thinking about Aisha. He discovers that he has brought Aisha's shirt with his belongings. Sid wears her shirt and reminisces about her while Aisha at her home speak to her parents as she feels lonely after Sid's departure. The next morning, Sid receives the latest issue of Mumbai Beat. He reads Aisha's column, an article describing her adjustment to life in Mumbai and her love for an unnamed person. Realizing that it is about her feelings for him, Sid rushes through rainy weather to meet her at the same beach where they had gone the day they met. Sid expresses his love for her and the two embrace.
Cast
- Konkona Sen Sharma as Aisha Banerjee
- Ranbir Kapoor as Siddharth "Sid" Mehra
- Rahul Khanna as Kabir Chaudhary
- Anupam Kher as Ram Mehra
- Shikha Talsania as Laxmi
- Supriya Pathak as Sarita
- Namit Das as Rishi
- Kashmira Shah as Sonia
- Rahul Pendalkar as Sanju
- Shruti Bapna as Debbie
- Kainaz Motivala as Tanya Lathia
- Natashja Rathore
- Atisha Naik
Release
Box office
Wake Up Sid opened well in India and overseas markets.[3][4] Its opening weekend gross was ₹215 million (US$3.0 million) of which the domestic gross was ₹170 million (US$2.4 million).[5] It was number one in the box office during its first and second weeks,[6][7] number four during its third week,[8] and number three during its fourth week.[9]
In the United Kingdom, the film collected US$165,934, while in the US, the collections were US$717,977.[10] By its fourth week, it grossed $348,351 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Do Knot Disturb also released during the same time, but Wake Up Sid got a larger portion of the audience.[11]
Critical reception
Wake Up Sid was well received by a number of critics. Subhash K. Jha gave Wake Up Sid a rave review stating that it is, "a triumph on many levels [...] Ayan Mukherjee takes the age-old dramatic conflicts of our commercial cinema into understated corridors."[12] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film three out of five stars, stating that Wake Up Sid "has its heart in the right place and marks the breakout of a bright, shining star who has come into his own so early in his acting career. Watch it, and be awestruck by Ranbir."[13] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film four out of five stars as well as a "thumbs up" stating that it is "strongly recommended."[14]
Mayank Shekhar of the Hindustan Times gave it 3.5 out of four stars and states, "Wake Up Sid belongs to a sweet genre that, without doubt, flows on from Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai: part Hollywood; part Bollywood; mostly coming-of-age; subtly romantic; largely original; authentic in feel; light in weight; English in expression; Hindi in language."[15] Avijit Ghosh of The Times of India gave it three and half out of four stars and suggests that, "Wake Up Sid becomes a sort of template of how GenNow navigate their lives: deal with their own little rebellions, find meaning to their own definitions of independence and handle their own set of mistakes. It feels good when the two friends finally meet in driving rain under the grey skies by the sea. Refreshing and heart-warming, Wake Up Sid really puts you in the mood for love."[16] Noyon Jyoti Parasara of AOL India gave it three and half out of five stars and praised the director saying, "Ayan Mukerji arrives in style and manages to leave his own mark on the film despite having a producer like Karan Johar whose other productions always tend to have his stamp. Wake Up Sid really puts you in the mood for love."[17]
Joginder Tuteja of the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) calls the film "flawless" and gave it three and a half stars. He states: "There are five things that make Wake Up Sid a delightful affair. It has a constant flow throughout; no over the top or understated drama; no ultra emotional strangulation of audiences; absolutely no yuppie cool dude act; and last but not the least, this is an original and refreshing story."[18] Rachel Saltz of The New York Times argues that: "With no big production numbers (songs play over montage sequences), a quiet style and credible characters, Wake Up Sid is Bollywood in an indie mood, a film for people like Aisha and Sid: young and educated. It may not be as hip as Bombay Beat, the magazine where the two work, but it shows that Mr. Mukherji is a director to watch."[1]
In one point of criticism, Sudhish Kamath of Chennai's The Hindu labeled the closing moments as a "stock ending" and noted that, despite the film's overall effectiveness, the ending "leaves you a little disappointed."[19] Variety's Joe Leydon found the film "instantly forgettable", but praised the performances of Kapoor and Sharma, as well noting how "effortlessly appealing" the movie is, stating: "...this atypically low-key Bollywood romantic comedy somehow manages to remain pleasantly diverting throughout its 138-minute running time."[20]
Controversy
On 2 October, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters protested to halt the screening of Wake Up Sid in Mumbai and Pune. The MNS objected the use of the word "Bombay" instead of "Mumbai" in the movie.[21]
Shooting
The movie was entirely shot in Mumbai, covering the South and Bandra Side. The college sequence was shot at H.R. College of Commerce and Economics near Churchgate.
Trivia
- Ranbir Kapoor was the original choice for the lead role. Director Ayan Mukherji wrote the film keeping him in his mind.
- Like Ranbir, Konkona Sen Sharma was the original choice for the role of Aisha Banerjee. In an Interview to a TV channel, Ranbir said that Ayan had already thought about casting her in the film but he didn't tell that to him. However, after the narration of the script it was Ranbir himself who co-incidentally recommended Konkona's name to Ayan mainly because she suited the character and no other actress from his generation could have played Aisha better than Konkona.
- Ayan Mukherji took around one and a half year to write the story, script and screenplay of the movie. He then narrated the script to Karan Johar who approved the script in one narration and decided to produce it.
- Iktara song was not originally used in the soundtrack. Ranbir loved the song in the background and he wanted to use the song officially in some other movie if it is not used properly in the film. However, later the song was used in two different versions - Female and Male that were picturized on Konkona and Ranbir respectively.
Awards and nominations
Soundtrack
The soundtrack has music composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The music was released on 21 August 2009. One song in the film has been composed by Amit Trivedi who scored the background music for the film.
| Wake Up Sid | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | ||||
| Released | 21 August 2009 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 1:34:31 | |||
| Label | Sony Music Entertainment | |||
| Producer |
Karan Johar Ronnie Screwvala | |||
| Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Track list | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Artist(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Wake Up Sid!" | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | Shankar Mahadevan | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Kya Karun?" | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | Clinton Cerejo | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Aaj Kal Zindagi" | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | Shankar Mahadevan | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Iktara" | Amit Trivedi | Kavita Seth, Amitabh Bhattacharya | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Life Is Crazy" | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | Shankar Mahadevan, Uday Benegal | 4:14 |
| 6. | "Iktara" | Amit Trivedi | Tochi Raina, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Raman Mahadevan | 3:44 |
| 7. | "Wake Up Sid! (Club Mix)" | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | Shankar Mahadevan | 3:44 |
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Bollywood Hungama |   |
| Rediff.com |  |
The reactions towards the music were favorable. Chandrima Pal of Rediff gave the album 3.5 stars, stating, "the music sticks to the brief. It is hip, urban and bubbly, and unhurried. And thanks to Shankar Ehsaan Loy's musicianship, it is a slick, well-balanced production".[31] Joginder Tuteja (Bollywood Hungama) gave it 3 stars out of possible 5, suggesting that, "this may not really turn out to be the best seller of the year but should certainly be a perfect fit for the narrative."[30]
References
- 1 2 New York Times review. Nytimes.com (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
- ↑ Money, By. (9 October 2009) VFX effects worked wonders to Wake Up Sid. Entertainment.oneindia.in. Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
- ↑ Wake Up Sid wows critics and masses alike!
- ↑ Taran Adarsh (3 October 2009). "B.O. update: 'Wake Up Sid', 'Do Knot Disturb' bring cheer". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ↑ Taran Adarsh (10 October 2009). "B.O. update: Domestic Box-Office". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ↑ Box Office: Week 1
- ↑ Box Office: Week 2
- ↑ Box Office: Week 3
- ↑ Box Office: Week 4
- ↑ "Wake Up Sid box office". businessofcinema.com. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ↑ Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
- ↑ Jha, Subhash (31 October 2009). "Subhash K Jha speaks about Wake Up Sid". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ↑ Masand's movie review: Wake Up Sid refreshing:News18 Videos. Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved on 13 January 2017.
- ↑ Adarsh, Taran (31 October 2009). "Bollywood Hungama Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
- ↑ Review: Wake Up Sid!
- ↑ Wake Up Sid Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved on 13 January 2017.
- ↑
- ↑ Tuteja, Joginder (2 October 2009). "'Wake Up Sid' a delightful movie (Film Review – Rating: *** 1/2)". IANS. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
- ↑ Sudhish Kamath (9 October 2009). "Wake up to a fresh breeze – Wake Up Sid". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ Joe Leydon (6 October 2009). "Review: Wake Up Sid". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ Bombay says sorry to Mumbai. Hindu.com. Retrieved on 13 January 2017.
- ↑ 3 Idiots shines at Filmfare Awards. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (27 February 2010). Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
- ↑ "Star Screen Award Winners 2010 – Sixteenth (16th) Nokia Annual Star Screen Awards". www.awardsandshows.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "Nominations for Nokia 16th Annual Star Screen Awards 2009". 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "Stardust Awards 2010: Winners List". www.merinews.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "Stardust awards 2010 : Nominees complete list". www.merinews.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "Hindi Awards Star Guild Awards 2010 | Nettv4u". nettv4u. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "Winners of the IIFA Awards 2010". filmibeat.com. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "IIFA Awards 2010 Nominations announced - bollywood news : glamsham.com". www.glamsham.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- 1 2 "Wake Up Sid Music Review by Joginder Tuteja". Bollywoodhungama.com.
- 1 2 "Sid's music is easy, breezy and bubbly". Rediff.com.