Over the Gandhi Jayanti weekend, I visited my sister in Bangalore. My nephew, our baby, wanted to “hang out” with me and tell me everything that has been happening in his life.
As I listened to him talk about college, cinema, art, summer internship that he found for himself, screenplay workshop conducted by Kamal Hassan that he attended, and a certain sense of alienation that he felt among his peers, it hit me forcibly that he has grown up tremendously in just a year. From an indulged, cosseted boy, he has transformed into this enterprising young man capable of taking care of himself.
There was a minor celebration between my sister, my mother and I over the very creditable driving skills he demonstrated when he drove us to Nandi Hills and back. I was almost choked up when the boy sat through Naseer’s Ismat Aapa ke Naam patiently and without complaining, although he didn’t understand a word of it.
It is truly a privilege to witness the coming of age of someone near and dear to one.
Perhaps I saw my nephew in Ranbir’s Sid - maybe that is why I liked the movie so much.
”Wake Up Sid” is not a great movie. It is not nuanced, it is not profound, and it is not even particularly funny. There is no directorial brilliance on display. It is so slow paced that it might induce ennui in some. My friends were able to enumerate at least half a dozen movies it reminded them of.
On the other hand, it is enormously relatable. It has no designer clothes, foreign locations, stars who are more bothered about their hair than their roles, blaring music, firang dancers (a burgeoning trend I equate to the rise of Russian prostitutes in the Middle East and hence find equally disturbing - don’t you think so?), and long, unending mushy sequences that one has come to expect in today’s race for “blockbuster” movies. It is also a continuous, if not so elegant, ode to Mumbai.
Most of it happens in a poky little studio apartment in Bandra in a dingy building. I know that cheerless matchbox with minimal comfort but great neighbors that passes as a building - I have lived in similar apartments elsewhere. Watch the shots of Ranbir entering the building - his head almost touches the roof of the portico and not even the lights used in the shoot could illuminate that claustrophobic lobby!
And of course, the movie is of and by Ranbir.
The thing is I love the guy. I found him pretty darned compelling even in that horribly pretentious and plainly horrible Saawariya. I watched that monstrosity for almost an hour just for him. I agree with all industry pundits that he is the most promising face in Hindi filmdom.
Even without these rose tinted glasses, the charm of his performance in WUS in undeniable. He is totally convincing as the spoilt, clueless, lost Sid. Catch him crying on Konkona’s shoulder after storming out of his house – he does it in such a boyish way that inspired an involuntary “Aww!” from me. He looks delectable in the scene where he is sleeping hugging his shoe. And when he gets his omlette perfect after days of trying, you feel proud of him.
All in all, he plays his role with refreshing subtlety and quietness.
The movie is not about big dramatic moments or confrontations. It is about the small, everyday matters: you feel Aisha’s (played by Konkona) irritation as she keeps walking into the apartment that has been trashed by a Sid who had servants to do the cleaning up for him at home. You know that she is going to lose it sooner than later, because perhaps it has happened to you too.
You totally get the look which is a mixture of love, exasperation, and hurt that Supriya Pathak gives her son, because perhaps you have seen it in your mother’s eyes too. Your first paycheck was probably as exciting.
Konkona is great as usual. It is not a role that taxes her much, but boy, she is a study on nuances. That slight curving of the lips to indicate jealousy and displeasure, that subtle sigh to show boredom, that slight widening of the eyes to show happiness – she is a treat to watch. Even when she blurts out to Rahul Khanna that she didn’t expect him to be so handsome or when she is bounding with excitement on being asked out on a date by him, she does it in way what I can only term as minimalist.
Quietness being the theme of the movie, the music is quiet too. I liked the “Ektaara” song. But I loved the re-recording in many scenes including the one when Sid goes to meet his mother. Even club scenes are strangely devoid of din in the movie.
When everything else is quiet and underplayed, how could the sexual sub text be in your face? The scene where Sid discovers a tattoo that Aisha has on the nape of her neck is probably the most sensuous scene in the movie. Although I did feel that the two took too much time to confess their feelings to each other.
To sum up: do watch it for Ranbir. Don’t expect anything else, but really, Ranbir is enough.
As I listened to him talk about college, cinema, art, summer internship that he found for himself, screenplay workshop conducted by Kamal Hassan that he attended, and a certain sense of alienation that he felt among his peers, it hit me forcibly that he has grown up tremendously in just a year. From an indulged, cosseted boy, he has transformed into this enterprising young man capable of taking care of himself.
There was a minor celebration between my sister, my mother and I over the very creditable driving skills he demonstrated when he drove us to Nandi Hills and back. I was almost choked up when the boy sat through Naseer’s Ismat Aapa ke Naam patiently and without complaining, although he didn’t understand a word of it.
It is truly a privilege to witness the coming of age of someone near and dear to one.
Perhaps I saw my nephew in Ranbir’s Sid - maybe that is why I liked the movie so much.
”Wake Up Sid” is not a great movie. It is not nuanced, it is not profound, and it is not even particularly funny. There is no directorial brilliance on display. It is so slow paced that it might induce ennui in some. My friends were able to enumerate at least half a dozen movies it reminded them of.
On the other hand, it is enormously relatable. It has no designer clothes, foreign locations, stars who are more bothered about their hair than their roles, blaring music, firang dancers (a burgeoning trend I equate to the rise of Russian prostitutes in the Middle East and hence find equally disturbing - don’t you think so?), and long, unending mushy sequences that one has come to expect in today’s race for “blockbuster” movies. It is also a continuous, if not so elegant, ode to Mumbai.
Most of it happens in a poky little studio apartment in Bandra in a dingy building. I know that cheerless matchbox with minimal comfort but great neighbors that passes as a building - I have lived in similar apartments elsewhere. Watch the shots of Ranbir entering the building - his head almost touches the roof of the portico and not even the lights used in the shoot could illuminate that claustrophobic lobby!
And of course, the movie is of and by Ranbir.
The thing is I love the guy. I found him pretty darned compelling even in that horribly pretentious and plainly horrible Saawariya. I watched that monstrosity for almost an hour just for him. I agree with all industry pundits that he is the most promising face in Hindi filmdom.
Even without these rose tinted glasses, the charm of his performance in WUS in undeniable. He is totally convincing as the spoilt, clueless, lost Sid. Catch him crying on Konkona’s shoulder after storming out of his house – he does it in such a boyish way that inspired an involuntary “Aww!” from me. He looks delectable in the scene where he is sleeping hugging his shoe. And when he gets his omlette perfect after days of trying, you feel proud of him.
All in all, he plays his role with refreshing subtlety and quietness.
The movie is not about big dramatic moments or confrontations. It is about the small, everyday matters: you feel Aisha’s (played by Konkona) irritation as she keeps walking into the apartment that has been trashed by a Sid who had servants to do the cleaning up for him at home. You know that she is going to lose it sooner than later, because perhaps it has happened to you too.
You totally get the look which is a mixture of love, exasperation, and hurt that Supriya Pathak gives her son, because perhaps you have seen it in your mother’s eyes too. Your first paycheck was probably as exciting.
Konkona is great as usual. It is not a role that taxes her much, but boy, she is a study on nuances. That slight curving of the lips to indicate jealousy and displeasure, that subtle sigh to show boredom, that slight widening of the eyes to show happiness – she is a treat to watch. Even when she blurts out to Rahul Khanna that she didn’t expect him to be so handsome or when she is bounding with excitement on being asked out on a date by him, she does it in way what I can only term as minimalist.
Quietness being the theme of the movie, the music is quiet too. I liked the “Ektaara” song. But I loved the re-recording in many scenes including the one when Sid goes to meet his mother. Even club scenes are strangely devoid of din in the movie.
When everything else is quiet and underplayed, how could the sexual sub text be in your face? The scene where Sid discovers a tattoo that Aisha has on the nape of her neck is probably the most sensuous scene in the movie. Although I did feel that the two took too much time to confess their feelings to each other.
To sum up: do watch it for Ranbir. Don’t expect anything else, but really, Ranbir is enough.
Comments
Watched Saawariya two Diwalis back and there were 18 minutes (16 minutes when Rani Mukherjee is around and 2 minutes for Salman Khan) in all. Rest was trash. The movie was an attempt to pay tribute to Raj Kapoor, where he (SLB) resorted to doing everything the Showman did including the dream sequence of Awara. He even takes Raj Kapoor's grandson as the hero and makes him do a poor imitation of the Showman. The Showman could pull it off, but isn't it unfair to expect the grandson to mimic his grandpa's antics?
Recently watched Bachna-e-Hasino on TV because I had nothing else to do. The movie needs a mention only for 2 reasons: 1 for Bipasha Basu, .5 for Hiten Paintal (that kid is a chip of the old block!) and .5 for the two infectious songs, Ahista Ahista and Khude Jaane. I have not talked about Ranbir Kapoor because you don't remember the movie and if you did, it is because of the above two reasons.
(I am running for cover!)
One, you saw Saawariya and Ranbir Kapoor was the worst thing about it??
I thought Sanjay Leela Bhansali was! The guy obviously has a fetish for the male naked body and he fulfils it in the only allowed manner to him - through the most public of medium. Take a line through SRK getting ahead of the story by mentioning rumors about him and Karan Johar sharing nookie.
Two, Kamal Haasan I always considered an over-hyped actor, whose best work was done early in his career. If the kid wants to have a career in writing, the first thing he must do is to avoid anything Kamal Haasan has to say. The guy turned into the biggest ham there ever was about a decade and a half ago. Which might explain why his comedy movies are so good.
I had to sit through more than two hours of tedium or as it is called, Unnaipol Oruvan. Where the best thing going on was probably the design of the floor tiles. I remember Priya mentioning it.
But what gets me goat is that he got Mohan Lal too for this travesty. I can just hear him on the phone to Lal - "It is a hollywood type movie, completely realistic, and organic..."
Fucking hell!
P.S. I only said that it would be quite an experience to attend a workshop on screen writing by Kamal and you don't need to have a career in writing to attend one. Obviously the organizers know what they are doing when they call him!