Oct 04, 2009 07:11 AM
1327 Views
A rich kid is suddenly thrown into the “real” world of discipline and responsibility. He is used to PS, iPhone, and breakfast in the bed. He has a doting mother whose love is masked by his nocturnal life style and Pa’s Shower business which he considers very “mundane and unfashionable”. Credit card is his weapon to wield at the materialistic world. He is blessed with true friends and once again he does not realize their presence.
He flunks and the world fall apart. He takes refuge with Konkana, who is struggling in the new city and career of Media. She is pole apart and yet there is a magnetic attraction between the two. She hand holds him into the real world and how Sid’s life turns is the crux of Wake of Sid.
Ranbir proves that he has acting in his blood. He talks in his eyes and maturity in his acting is evident in each frame. There are many moments to cherish in the movie. He reciprocates Kashmira’s eyes with élan, He is slightly awkward when he wants to sleep in his Red chaddi and experiences Mumbai Rain like a child in every person. Next time when a star son gets an opportunity to get an author-backed role, let’s not complain. That’s because if he actually goes on to come up with as flawless an act as seen in “Wake Up Sid”, there is no reason why one should really be looking around for anyone else. Ranbir Kapoor comes up with a neat, simple and believable performance. When most actors would have been happy to establish their standing in Bollywood with a quintessential romantic hero role, Ranbir is anything but a hero here.
He allows himself to be treated as a ‘kid’ by Konkona Sen Sharma, who by the way is happy to play a woman five years elder to him. However, there is this special something which brews between them that pretty much gives the true meaning of a platonic relationship. Meanwhile Konkona gets yet another complex role for herself. She is brilliant. Watch out for her in the interview scene or the outburst when Ranbir decides to go back to his parents’ house. Her irritation in certain scenes with Ranbir is utterly believable too and so are the tender ways in which she looks after him.
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.
While the film actually becomes really engrossing in the second half, the first half facilitates an adequate groundwork for the story to progress. There are bitter sweet moments in the first half as well but one still wishes for that extra something to kick start that would make “Wake Up Sid” go beyond a regular “coming of age” film.
This is where young director Ayan Mukerji’s writing comes in handy because unlike a conventional movie, he doesn’t just bring a turnaround in Sid’s character by throwing a song to bring in that ‘overnight transformation’.
He keeps it soft and subtle starting from something as simple as Sid learning how to prepare an omelette, keep his comic books stacked, prepare his own bed and of course, earn his very first cheque.
By the time he returns to his dad(Anupam Kher in a short but effective role), you realize that the destination was eventually met even as the journey wasn’t quite ‘on your face’ or ‘over the top’.
The supporting cast fits in well too. The young man who plays Rishi(Namit Das - last seen in “The President Is Coming” as Ramesh) is just effortless. Kashmira Shah, in her four-scene act, is a pleasant surprise while Rahul Khanna is decent in the limited footage.
