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Wake Up Sid

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Wikipedia article




'Wake Up Sid' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under Dharma Productions, with UTV Motion Pictures as distributor and visual effects contributed by the Prime Focus Group.Money, By. (9 October 2009) [http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/features/2009/wake-up-sid-vfx-091009.html VFX effects worked wonders to Wake Up Sid]. Entertainment.oneindia.in. Retrieved on 13 January 2017. The film takes place in contemporary Mumbai and tells the story of careless rich brat Siddharth Mehra, a college student who is taught the value of owning up to responsibility by Aisha Bannerjee, an aspiring writer from Kolkata. Ranbir Kapoor, who received awards and accolades for his performance, stars in the titular role, while Konkona Sen Sharma plays the female lead. Both Kapoor and Sharma won rave reviews for their performances, and the film emerged as a critical and commercial success. The film is now available on Netflix until 30 September 2022.

Plot



Siddharth Mehra aka Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) is an extremely lazy and careless university college student in his early twenties living in Mumbai who does not know what he wants to pursue. He hates college and his creativity and talent for photography are often disregarded and ignored. He barely stays awake at night to study for the final exams and forces himself to sleep. His father Ram Mehra (Anupam Kher) is a wealthy businessman who wants him to excel while his mother Sarita Mehra (Supriya Pathak) is a housewife who pampers him.

During his exams, as Sid struggles to write proper answers in the exam hall, he imagines some of his college-mates insulting him for his laziness. Infuriated at this, he quickly completes his exam paper and goes for a shopping trip for the whole day, enjoying unlimitedly and returning home on the next day. At the farewell party after the final exams, Sid meets Aisha Banerjee (Konkona Sen Sharma), an aspiring writer who recently moved from her hometown of Kolkata. With the help of Sid, Aisha rents a flat in a small apartment and lands a job at 'Mumbai Beat' (based on 'Time Out! Mumbai'), a hip magazine company run by editor-in-chief Kabir Choudhary (Rahul Khanna).

When the final exam results come out, Sid learns that he failed while the rest of his classmates and friends passed, delaying his graduation for at least another year. He vents his frustration on his friends and storms off. At his house, Sid gets angry at his parents and ends up hastily leaving the house after a livid blowout. Aisha allows him to temporarily stay at her apartment but finds him disorganized and careless with her house. One night, she loses her temper and berates him for his inability to look after himself. Sid confides in her that he now realizes his dependence on his father's wealth, a realisation that persuades him to seek work.

Aisha helps him land a job as a photography intern at 'Mumbai Beat'. The internship motivates him to be more responsible and productive and he helps out with chores around the house. He eventually gets hired full-time at 'Mumbai Beat' and receives his first paycheck. He immediately goes to visit his father in his office for the first time in months to show him his paycheck and he nostalgically asks him to return home. Aisha and Kabir start dating but she realises that they have little in common. She develops feelings for Sid and is heartbroken to learn that he is leaving on the day he packs his bag. Confused and hurt, Sid makes his departure as he is unaware that Aisha has fallen in love with him. After his arrival in his house, he finds out that he has accidentally brought Aisha's shirt and wears it. The next day, Sid receives the latest issue of 'Mumbai Beat' and reads Aisha's article of her life in Mumbai and love for an unnamed person. Realising that the article is about her feelings for him, Sid immediately rushes from his car through the rain to the seafront where Aisha is. Reaching there, he confesses his love for her and they both embrace.

Cast



* Ranbir Kapoor as Siddharth Mehra aka Sid

* Konkona Sen Sharma as Aisha Banerjee

* Supriya Pathak as Sarita Mehra

* Anupam Kher as Ram Mehra

* Rahul Khanna as Kabir Choudhary

* Kashmera Shah as Sonia Gill

* Shikha Talsania as Laxmi Inder Advani

* Namit Das as Rishi Atul Raheja

* Krutika Bolaki as Neha, Rishi's love interest

* Sid Pendkalkar as Sanjay "Sanju" Bapat

* Sanat Sawant as Jay Mehra

* Shruti Bapna as Debbie

* Nitin Chatterjee as Restaurant Steward

* Kainaz Motivala as Tanya Lathia

* Mukesh Rawal as Mr. Lathia, Tanya's Father, Ram Mehra's close friend

* Atisha Naik as Sanju's mother

* Asif Ali Baig as Raj

* Munir Kabani as Amit, Head Photographer at Mumbai Beat

* Mohsin Ali Khan as Chhotu, Sid's servant

* Huzefa Gadiwala

Release



Box office

'Wake Up Sid' opened well in India and overseas markets. Its opening weekend gross was of which the domestic gross was . It was number one in the box office during its first and second weeks, number four during its third week, and number three during its fourth week

In the United Kingdom, the film collected US$165,934, while in the US, the collections were US$717,977. 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.

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 Mukerji takes the age-old dramatic conflicts of our commercial cinema into understated corridors. Rajeev Masand of 'CNN-IBN' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 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."[https://web.archive.org/web/20091009044435/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/masands-movie-review-wake-up-sid-refreshing/102590-8.html Masand's movie review: Wake Up Sid refreshing:News18 Videos]. Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved on 13 January 2017. Taran Adarsh of 'Bollywood Hungama' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars as well as a "thumbs up" stating that it is "strongly recommended."

Mayank Shekhar of the 'Hindustan Times' gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars and states, "'Wake Up Sid' belongs to a sweet genre that, without doubt, flows on from Farhan Akhtar's 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001): part-Hollywood; part-Bollywood; mostly coming-of-age; subtly romantic; largely original; authentic in feel; light in weight; English in expression; Hindi in language." Avijit Ghosh of 'The Times of India' gave it 3.5 out of 4 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."[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Wake-Up-Sid/moviereview/5081263.cms Wake Up Sid Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India]. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved on 13 January 2017. Noyon Jyoti Parasara of 'AOL India' gave it 3.5 out of 5 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."

Joginder Tuteja of the 'Indo-Asian News Service' (IANS) calls the film "flawless" and gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. He states: "There are 5 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." 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."[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/movies/03wake.html?_r=1 New York Times review]. Nytimes.com (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 13 January 2017.

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." 'Variety's Joe Leydon found the film "instantly forgettable", but praised the performances of Sharma and Kapoor, as well noting how "effortlessly appealing" the film is, stating: "...this atypically low-key Bollywood romantic comedy somehow manages to remain pleasantly diverting throughout its 138-minute running time."

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.

Shooting

'Wake Up Sid' was entirely shot in Mumbai, covering the areas of South Mumbai and Bandra. The college sequence was shot at H.R. College of Commerce and Economics near Churchgate, Mumbai.

Trivia

* Ranbir Kapoor was the original choice for the lead role. Director Ayan Mukerji 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 coincidentally 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.

* The song "Iktara" 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 film, 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.

Television Rights

'Wake Up Sid''s television rights were sold to Colors at the time of its premiere, whence it would subsequently premiere on UTV Movies, and later Bindass. Eventually, after the Disney acquisition of Star India, the film began premiering with multiple slot re-runs on Star Gold Select.

Home Video

'Wake Up Sid''s DVD were published by UTV Home Video.

Awards and nominations



{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+

!Award

!Category

!Recipient(s) and nominee(s)

!Result

!Ref.

|-

| rowspan="9" |55th Filmfare Awards

|Best Actor (Critics)

|Ranbir Kapoor (also for 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani' and 'Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year')

|

| rowspan="9" |[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/3-Idiots-shines-at-Filmfare-Awards/articleshow/5624906.cms 3 Idiots shines at Filmfare Awards]. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (27 February 2010). Retrieved on 13 January 2017.

|-

|Best Actor

|Ranbir Kapoor

|

|-

|Best Director

| rowspan="2" |Ayan Mukerji

|

|-

|Best Debut Director

|

|-

|Best Female Playback Singer

|Kavita Seth for "Iktara"

|

|-

|Best Film

|'Wake Up Sid'

|rowspan="4"

|-

|Best Supporting Actress

|Supriya Pathak

|-

|Best Music Director

|ShankarEhsaanLoy

|-

|Best Lyricist

|Javed Akhtar for "Iktara"

|-

| rowspan="2" |Screen Awards

|Best Female Playback Singer

|Kavita Seth for "Iktara"

|

|

|-

|Most Promising Debut Director

|Ayan Mukerji

|

|

|-

| rowspan="5" |Stardust Awards

|Superstar Of Tomorrow - Male

|Ranbir Kapoor (also for 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani')

|

| rowspan="2" |

|-

|Hottest New Director

|Ayan Mukerji

|

|-

|Best Film Of The Year - Drama

|'Wake Up Sid'

| rowspan="3"

| rowspan="3" |

|-

|Best Supporting Actress

|Supriya Pathak

|-

|New Musical Sensation - Female

|Kavita Seth for "Iktara"

|-

| rowspan="9" |Producers Guild Film Awards

|Best Debut Director

| rowspan="3" |Ayan Mukerji

|

| rowspan="9" |

|-

|Best Director

|rowspan="8"

|-

|Best Story

|-

|Best Actor in a Leading Role

|Ranbir Kapoor

|-

|Best Actress in a Leading Role

|Konkona Sen Sharma

|-

|Best Actor in a Supporting Role

|Anupam Kher

|-

|Best Actress in a Supporting Role

|Supriya Pathak

|-

|Best Costume Design

|Manish Malhotra

|-

|Best Art Direction

|Amrita Mahal

|-

| rowspan="5" |International Indian Film Academy Awards

|Best Female Playback Singer

|Kavita Seth for "Iktara"

|

|

|-

|Best Director

| rowspan="2" |Ayan Mukerji

| rowspan="4"

| rowspan="4" |

|-

|Best Story

|-

|Best Actor

|Ranbir Kapoor

|-

|Best Supporting Actress

|Supriya Pathak

|-

|2nd Mirchi Music Awards

|Listeners' Choice Song of the Year

|"Iktara"

|

|

|}

Soundtrack



The music was composed by ShankarEhsaanLoy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The soundtrack was released on 21 August 2009. Amit Trivedi, who provided the film's background score, guest-composed the song "Iktara", its reprise and extended version, all of which were written by his frequent collaborator Amitabh Bhattacharya. Song "Boondon Ke Moti", an extension to Iktara, sung by Salim Merchant remains unreleased till date.

Reception





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". Joginder Tuteja ('Bollywood Hungama') gave it 3.5 stars out of possible 5, suggesting that, "this may not really turn out to be the bestseller of the year but should certainly be a perfect fit for the narrative."

References




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