Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

Ayan Mukerji Ayan Mukerji (born 15 August 1983) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi films. Mukerji made his directorial debut at the age of 26 with the coming-of-age comedy '' Wake Up Sid'' (2009). The film opened to stro ...

Karan Johar Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several su ...

Dharma Productions Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Joh ...

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen S ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

Kavita Seth Kavita Seth (born 14 September 1970) is an Indian singer, who is most known as a playback singer in Hindi cinema, as well as a performer of Ghazals and Sufi music, and leads a Sufi musical group, ''Karwaan Group''.Best Debut Director (Mukerji, tying with

Zoya Akhtar Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becomin ...

for '' Luck by Chance''). The film is now available on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

.

Plot

Siddharth "Sid" Mehra (

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

) is an extremely lazy and careless college student in his early twenties living in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

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. Sid walks out of his final exam early, feeling deprived of sleep and insecure about his lack of direction in life compared to his friends. At his college's farewell party, Sid meets and befriends Aisha Banerjee (

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen S ...

), an aspiring writer who recently moved from her hometown of

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. With Sid's help, 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 Rahul Khanna (born 20 June 1972) is an Indian actor, VJ and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the older son of actor turned politician Vinod Khanna and the older brother of Akshaye Khanna. Early life and background Khanna was born and rai ...

). When the final exam results arrive, 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 to be unorganized 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, motivating him to seek work of his own. Aisha helps Sid land a job as a photography intern at ''Mumbai Beat''. The internship motivates Sid to be more responsible and productive, and he begins helping 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, leading the two to tearfully reconcile. Aisha goes on several dates with Kabir, but realizes they have little in common and that she has developed feelings for Sid. Aisha is heartbroken to learn that Sid is moving back in with his family and lashes out at him, causing Sid to leave without realizing Aisha's feelings for him. The day after Sid moves back into his family's house, he receives the latest issue of ''Mumbai Beat'', which contains both his photographs as well as Aisha's article of her life in Mumbai and love for an unnamed person. Realizing that the article is about her feelings for him, Sid immediately rushes from his car through the rain to the seafront where Aisha is. He confesses his love for her and they both embrace.

Cast

*

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen S ...

as Aisha Banerjee *

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

as Siddharth "Sid" Mehra * Anupam Kher as Ram Mehra * Supriya Pathak as Sarita Mehra *

Rahul Khanna Rahul Khanna (born 20 June 1972) is an Indian actor, VJ and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the older son of actor turned politician Vinod Khanna and the older brother of Akshaye Khanna. Early life and background Khanna was born and rai ...

as Kabir Choudhary *

Kashmera Shah Kashmera Shah (born 2 December 1972) also known as "Kashmeera" is an Indian actress. Born in Mumbai, she is the granddaughter of noted Hindustani classical singer Anjanibai Lolekar. She has appeared in numerous Hindi and Marathi films. She wa ...

as Sonia Gill * Shikha Talsania as Laxmi Inder Advani *

Namit Das Namit Das (born 10 July 1984) is an Indian film, television, and theatre actor. He has acted in several television commercials. He belongs to a family of musicians and singers; his father is reputed ghazal singer Chandan Dass. His maternal gran ...

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 Nitin or Nithin (Devanagari:नितिन, नीतीन or नीतिन) is a male first name in India and Nepal that means ''one having the 'double art' in Sanskrit. Nitin comes from the Sanskrit words 'niti' meaning 'art' and 'gna' or ' ...

as Restaurant Steward *

Kainaz Motivala Kainaz Motivala is an Indian actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Her acting career started with a small role in ''Wake Up Sid'' as ''Tanya'' in 2009. She was signed for the role ''Shailey'' in the 2010 Bollywood film ''Paathshala''. I ...

as Tanya Lathia *

Mukesh Rawal Mukesh Rawal (1951 – 15 November 2016) was an Indian actor. He worked in Hindi and Gujarati films and television shows. He was well known for playing Vibhishana in Ramanand Sagar's 1987 epic TV series '' Ramayan''. Personal life Mukesh Ra ...

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

Atisha Naik Atisha Naik is an Indian actress has been in the field of acting since she was 8 years old when she made her debut in a Marathi play, ''Good Bye Doctor'' as a child artist. She made her film debut with Mahesh Manjrekar's Hindi film '' Pran Jay ...

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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, 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 New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

and the United Kingdom. ''

Do Knot Disturb ''Do Knot Disturb'' is a 2009 Indian comedy film directed by David Dhawan. The film is a remake of the 2006 French film '' The Valet'' (French: ''La Doublure''). The film stars Govinda, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, Ranvir Shorey ...

'' also released during the same time, but ''Wake Up Sid'' got a larger portion of the audience.

Reception

''Wake Up Sid'' received positive reviews from critics upon release, who praised its novel screenplay, direction, dialogues, soundtrack and performances of the cast. 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 Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in his ...

of ''

CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internat ...

'' 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."

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...

of ''

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...

'' 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 ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'' 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 Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...

'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 ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

'' 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." Noyon Jyoti Parasara of ''

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

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 Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. Their main offices are located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The s ...

'' (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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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. Mukerji is a director to watch."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 ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...

'' 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 Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...

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 The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (translation: Maharashtra Reformation Army; MNS) is a Regionalist far-right Indian political party based in the state of Maharashtra and operates on the ideology of "Hindutva" and " Marathi" Manus. It was found ...

supporters protested to halt the screening of ''Wake Up Sid'' in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

and

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. The MNS objected the use of the word "Bombay" instead of "Mumbai" in the movie.

Shooting

''Wake Up Sid'' was entirely shot in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, covering the areas of

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbour ...

and

Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre ( �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate north of River Mithi, which separates B ...

. The college sequence was shot at

H.R. College of Commerce and Economics Hassaram Rijhumal College of Commerce and Economics, commonly known as HR College, is an autonomous (since 2007 ) educational institute located in Churchgate, Mumbai. It is run by the Hyderabad (Sindh) National Collegiate Board and is affiliate ...

near

Churchgate Churchgate (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾt͡ʃɡeːʈ is an area in South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid-19th century, Mumbai was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Churchgate, named after St. Thomas Cath ...

, 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

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst ...

with lyrics by

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2 ...

. 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 Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...

. Song "Boondon Ke Moti", an extension to Iktara, sung by

Salim Merchant Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin *Salim (poet) (1800–1866) * Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996) * Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans * Selim people, an e ...

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 Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...

'') 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

External links

Official Trailer
–

Dharma Productions Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Joh ...

* * * {{Authority control 2000s Hindi-language films Films set in Mumbai 2000s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2009 romantic comedy-drama films 2009 films Films shot in Mumbai Indian coming-of-age comedy-drama films Indian romantic comedy-drama films UTV Motion Pictures films Films scored by Amit Trivedi 2009 comedy films 2009 drama films Films directed by Ayan Mukerji