Wake Up Sid Movie Review

BT Rating: (2/5)

Movie Review By Bhushan

Since ‘Wake up Sid’ positions itself as a film about realisation, let’s begin with an irony of sorts.

W.u.S comes to you from the Dharma Productions stable. The Karan Johar powered banner which has over the last decade has produced several films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kal Ho Na Ho, Kaal and other gloss-dipped cinematic tales, that they appear to have forgotten a tad about ‘reality’.

W.u.S, which so obviously is aimed at the aspiring urban youth, gives them an insight into the life of quintessential rich, spoilt boy (but good at heart and sorry bout the cliches) college kid Sidharth Mehra (Sid) and his ‘journey’ to maturity.

Son of a wealthy bathroom fittings magnate played by Anupam Kher, Sid once again lives up to the image of an urban brat. He munches burgers, wears everything branded from his tees to bed covers, drives a sleek SUV to pubs and so on and so forth.

Kher’s attempts to coax his son to learn the tricks of the sanitary business fail, despite his last ditch attempt to bribe his son with Porsche. Doesn’t work with Sid who gets ‘pakaoed’ with his dad’s business.

Sid then meets (Aisha) Konkona Sen Sharma, who has moved from Kolkata to Mumbai in her personal quest for independence. Both are chalk and cheese (Sid being cheese of course), But somehow they hit off, despite the slightly older and more practical Konkona making it clear that she is not really interested in ‘boys’.

Aisha’s who’s fond of Sid, also has a thing on her suave boss played by Rahul Khanna (How often more are we going to see Rahul Khanna in this kind of a cameo. Heard of cameo’s getting predictable, here’s one).

A significant part of the film is about the balance both Sid and Aisha find considering their diametrically opposite personalities. Credit is due for Aisha, who actually makes Sid do the more menial things in life, which his family has never been able to like say wash his clothes, washing cutlery, etc.

The chemistry’s cute, but that does not make a movie.. does it?

For a film which flirts with an overwhelming brush with realism W.u.S. comes across as an exceedingly insincere film.

Aisha’s quest for independence is rank shallow. She slips into her post migration phase, as easily as one slips a foot into a sock. She moves in to well appointed flat, with an editorial assistant’s job in Mumbai. Oh… and her aspiration to be a writer. We do not know what happens to that.

Konkona does a good job at the role, several clones of which she has executed in the past as a contemporary (not modern, mind you) ‘normal’ middle class girl aspiring for success.

Now there is a question about Sid, whose character the film revolves on. We would hesitate before saying Ranbir Kapoor has executed it well. In a lot many ways, it could be Sid playing Ranbir, instead of Ranbir playing Sid.

To uncomplicate the matters, Ranbir plays a character which appears very close in essence and character to the Ranbir Kapoor, known to all of us.

Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak (as the mother) have held well, not surprising considering their respective illustrious careers, but are let down by the script, which lacks the flow and the quick, snappy feel which the visuals convey.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music is fresh, but does not have the mojo, which made the score of another similarly bracketed film Dil Chahata Hai such an unquestionable hit.

Ayan Mukherjee, who’s the director and has also been credited with the story and the screenplay has more minuses and very few plusses in his plate.

Negatives for choking a good ensemble of performers, cooking up a directionless plot and giving us nothing much to remember.

In his quest for the different, Ayan has ended up giving us an extremely risk-free, pseudo-out-of-the-box film, which is salvaged ironically by the ‘feel good’ production so synonymous with a Karan Johar.

Someone had better wake him up.