Oct 03, 2009 01:31 AM
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Dil Chahta Hai and Laqshya have set excellent benchmarks for the ‘Coming of age’ genre, so one approaches Wake Up Sid with a healthy skepticism but by its end, Wake Up Sid more than meets one’s expectations. Even within the confines of a coming of age story, you have to admire the extent to which Director, Ayaan Mukherjee pushes the envelop and that too without resorting to even a whiff of melodrama.
But to begin at the beginning, Ranbir is a rich father’s, happy go lucky son who is not exactly an evil brat, but is definitely a little spoilt. By contrast, his new found friend is Konkana, a young girl who comes down from Calcutta to Mumbai, to carve an ‘independent’ life. After a setback, how Ranbir grows up to shoulder his responsibilities - is what Wake Up Sid is all about.
The movie does not have a very large canvas, there are not more than 8-10 main characters, and in real time the events could possibly play out in a couple of months. But even within this limited canvas, the director very dextrously oscillates between first putting a smile on your face, and then giving you a lump in your throat. The mother who learns english so that she can one day be her son’s friend, the young friend who carries around an engagement ring for his girlfriend, the hot neighbour who is interested in her friend’s sex life, the harassed domestic help ‘chhotu’ who who wears a ‘happy’ tshirt - each of these characters is beautifully and effortlessly brought to life in the screenplay.
For the most part the pace is fairly unhurried and laidback, but the superlative writing, an inspired soundtrack and some fantastic acting do not let even a single dull minute creep in.
Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music and Amit Trivedi’s one song and background track make a huge contribution to establishing the mood for the developments in the story, as does the eye pleasing cinematography by Anil Mehta. Konkana does a good job of portraying a normal young career girl, but she is getting a tad repetitive. Anupam Khar and Supriya Pathak are excellently restrained and you are delighted when an endearing Namit Das’s character makes his way back into the story. But above all, it’s Ranbir Kapoor’s acting which brings this movie to life. First as the carefree brat he makes us want to slap him, then as the confused youngster struggling with hardships, he makes our heart ache and when he finally grows into a young man, he makes us feel genuinely happy for him. Delivering an impact without an iota of histrionics, Ranbir puts in such an effortless performance, that he does not act, rather he lives ‘Sid’.
Finally all credit must go to debutant director, Ayaan Mukherjee. Without Dil Chahta Hai’s melodramatics… without the heroic metamorphosis of Lakshya - Ayaan manages to deliver a very personal and a very intimate ‘coming-of-age’ story with just some great characters, and numerous tender fleeting moments.
The upper class Mumbai backdrop makes it a city centric story, and hence Wake Up Sid is a must see for intelligent urban audiences. There’s no doubt, this one’s a surefire NRI+ multiplex hit.
