Tis’ a pity that the talented duo of Ranbir Kapoor and Konkana Sen had to team up with a moron like Ayan Mukerji (credited here for direction, story and screenplay).
Both Ranbir and Konkana are decent actors, by Bollywood standards.
And it’s a mighty shame they hitched their trailer to the Ayan jalopy.
The duo’s capable performance was the sole saving grace of Wake Up Sid because the rest of the movie is boring trash.
Of the two, we’d say Ranbir was a little ahead in the acting department displaying a wider range of emotions.
The girl had a PMS-cramps-weighing-down-on-her expression far too often. 😉
Still, we’ll take Konkana any day over the Kareenas, Katrinas and the other Klowns of Bollywood.
Boring Shit
The Wake Up Sid story is a pathetically banal, crappy piece of shit.
A rich brat having a good time with his father’s cash and doesn’t take anything seriously.
Not his studies. Not his father’s business.
Nothing save partying and having a good time with his buddies counts with our Siddharth a.k.a Sid.
But for our Aisha Banerjee (Konkana Sen), newly arrived in Bombay (take that you jackass, Raj Thackeray) from Kolkata with a serious expression and more serious dreams of becoming a writer, goals and mature behavior matter.
No sooner is she in Bombay than she serendipitously meets our kid Sid.
Although polar opposites, they quickly become close friends. So close that when Sid walks out of his home in a huff he drops anchor at her home.
Yeah, Sid is disorganized, his room is a mess and he can’t cook.
Hello, is that enough material for a movie?
By God, no. That’s kid stuff.
How Sid turns into a responsible fella and the friends find love constitutes the rest of this yawn-yawn story.
What Music
None of the songs had any life in them.
DOA
Strange how this buffoon Ayan Mukerji got to handle as onerous a task as making a movie.
Well, one more of life’s many mysteries.
Folks, this crap is most certainly not worth $10.50 or $12.50 (depending on whether you are watching it in NJ or NYC).
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This guy Ayan Mukherji is supposedly a cousin of Kajol and Rani Mukherji. You figure it out.
You wont find many Bollywood movies in this coming-of-age genre, and the good ones are even fewer.
Apart from Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya, it is hard to find other watchable ones of this kind. Even these are about coming-of-age of stinking rich kids. Lesser mortals apparently never come of age.
I strongly recommend Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992), although it is not strictly coming-of-age kinda movie.
It is a delightful movie with some fine songs and good performances.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Lesser mortals apparently never come of age.
Classic line. Very true.
BTW, we saw the previews of Kurbaan (Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor) last night.
That one too seems to be set here in the U.S. So many Bollywood movie themes seem so targeted at so few of us.
2. Dil Chahta Hai was a charmer. This one’s crap.
3. You write: I strongly recommend Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992)
Will watch it soon. Really.
4. You write: This guy Ayan Mukherji is supposedly a cousin of Kajol and Rani Mukherji
The Mukerji clan seems to be degrading with each new cousin.
They should’ve stopped with Kajol.
Ayan Mukerji is Rani Mukerji’s cousin.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
They should’ve vasectomized all the Mukerjis after Kajol.
Where’s Sanjay Gandhi when you need him?
What boring shit!! God, I want to get out! Its not even half-way yet. Curse on you, KJo!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thank God for at least Tanya. 😉
Who’s the girl?
@SI
Tanya, really? I didn’t think much of her. I got through the entire movie on the insistence of my friends. 50 INR down the drain but AC enkilum muthalaakande (atleast get the worth out of AC).
And I don’t know how you can appreciate the acting when the story is lousy. Agreed that the leads are decent actors but I didn’t, again, think much of them in this movie.
Music was, according to me, good. The Iktara song towards the end stands out.
On the whole a crappy, boring affair. No doubt. Few of the brightest moments were provided by the remarks of the guy sitting behind me and also of my friends. The film makers in this country used to have integrity. I think they have lost it now. And what is with the half-hindi or English dialogues? WTF? It just gets on my nerves when they do that. Aarggh!! I’m pissed. Curse on all ye curs of the film industry!! You rip us off our money, time and torture us. Cheviyil nulliko (count your seconds), the time will come when we shall be avenged!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Curse on all ye curs of the film industry….Cheviyil nulliko (count your seconds), the time will come when we shall be avenged!
Avenged against our film-makers? You’ve got to be delusional.
The Indian soil is fertile ground for movies like KI, Kanthasamy, SIK, Pammal Sambandam, stolen shit like Ghajini et al. This one too might turn into a hit.
There is not even the remote chance of getting revenge against these shaitans because a lot of Indians want such stuff.
2. You write: And I don’t know how you can appreciate the acting when the story is lousy. Agreed that the leads are decent actors but I didn’t, again, think much of them in this movie.
We believe good actors like Irrfan Khan, Naseruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, and to a lesser extent Konkana Sen, Ranbir Kapoor et al put a lot of effort into their performances that they stand out even in mediocre films. Because of their hard work/talent, they seem so natural giving a touch of verisimilitude even to trash.
Good actors stand out even amidst utter garbage. Take for instance, this overall crappy scene in Tridev. Utter nonsense but Naseeruddin Shah still stands out. He, obviously, makes an effort.
Also, think how much worse Wake Up Sid would have been with someone like Riteish Deshmukh, Zayed Khan or Tusshar Kapoor in the lead role. All your suicidal impulses would have come to the fore.
the way you missed 15 years of movies is baffling.. and the way you are over-compensating for it by watching all kinds of movies spending 10$ each is even more baffling.. if I were as rich as you, I’d spend it in better ways 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Gosh, did we ever stop watching Indian movies? 😉
@SI: how much worse Wake Up Sid would have been with someone like Riteish Deshmukh, Zayed Khan or Tusshar Kapoor in the lead role. All your suicidal impulses would have come to the fore.
That is true.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Maybe, we’ll watch the Arabic film Under the Bombs (2007) (screened at the Sundance and Venice Film Festivals) today.
If we do, it’ll likely be our first Arabic film. Can’t recollect seeing any Arabic film.
Movie was boring but Ranbir and Konkona were great. Love Ranbir. From the Kurbaan promo, did anyone get the feeling that it is like another Fanaa?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Folks, we have bad instincts about this “Jyoti Ramakrishnan.’
Doesn’t sound genuine to us. Seems like a movie PR person.
A carpet bombing PR exercise?
We’re going to take everything from ‘Jyoti Ramakrishnan’ cum grano salis and suggest all smart SI readers do the same.
Thank You JIJAJI.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You’re (almost) welcome. 😉
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Kaminey/70117268?trkid=191776
got to watch it tonight
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Wow. That’s so cool.
Seems like a new trend. Never heard of a successful Bollywood movie hitting Netflix so fast.
We’ll watch it again or at least parts of it.
Thanks. 🙂
here the clowns started again (kelambittangaya kelambittangaya)
where are ur rest of your darlings
the romance quotient between you and them is missing in this post
please start that soon
in the meanwhile enjoy the new Sam anderson on the block
http://www.cinesouth.com/scopes/reviews/new/sivaeng.shtml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiJu_-MKM6s
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Watched the video and read the review.
The video should find favor with Tamils in Tamil Nadu.
Isn’t this the kinda thing they lap up there? 😉
2. The review is of a piece with the video.
can you give the review of “lagaan”,kannada movie “mungaru male”,”the prestige”,
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Here’s the Mungaru Male Review – What Made it Click?
We’ll do Lagaan and The Prestige one of these days.
Just checked out The Prestige, seems interesting.
have you watched http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/lookingforcomedyinthemuslimworld
i watched 10 minutes of it at a friend’s place.. lot of Indians involved.. showed promise, but had to get out.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The preview was funny.
Added to Netflix queue.
not going to watch “Whip it”? I love Drew Barrymore.. and it has your favorite Juno girl in it.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
No, beri biji with Akakiy Akakievich Bashchkin.
@Swagat: Clowns?
Na, There ought to be a spelling mistake. “A clown” started again (with a different name)..
Figuring out who that is? Don’t bother much.. In the meanwhile, try replacing stars in this word with the same letter..and you get that..!
pund* m*v*ne..!!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Sweet.
wafer thin story ….needed …good dialouges ….lot of humour ….that would have done the trick …
acting …dont know what you mean by good acting ….ranbir kapoor was not good at all …..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: acting …dont know what you mean by good acting …
As in seemingly natural…not contrived. Not like Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Tusshar Kapoor et al.
Among the younger lot, Ranbir Kapoor is universally considered to be a good (if not the best) actor.
Watch The Prestige………………BRILLIANT!! Also, Doubt is really good as well – Phillip Hoffman and Meryl Streep
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Seen Doubt.
As we wrote once:
Will definitely watch The Prestige.
Prestige is one of my favorite film, one of the best films of nolan as well. Loved it.
@SI – Did you see Lakshya? Actually WUS plot is borrowed from Lakshya..I liked the movie, but I afraid to recommend that to you coz. you didn’t like CDI, Swades, or RDB. I though three of them were well made movie, while I guess you don’t like such films.. 😛
SearchIndia.com Responds:
No, haven’t seen Lakshya.
Checked it out on IMDB. Looks interesting. Will watch for sure.
Hey… try to watch Taken starring Liam Neeson… fast paced action thriller…
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We saw the trailer a few times.
Will see the film.