Why "Wake Up Sid" movie is my favorite :)

I am very selective about the Bollywood movies that I choose to watch. I don’t like the typical commercial, masaledar movies without any storyline, characters, screenplay and acting. Most of them are ruled out just by looking at the Name of the movie, its banner, its actors and director. And some which pass these filter criteria get eliminated when I watch their trailers. Very few end up in my watch list. And some movies I end up watching forcibly with my family or friends.

Wake up Sid was one such movie, that I came across because my friends chose to watch that movie over tea 4 yrs back. We never completed watching that movie; couple of them found it boring and we got deviated from watching the movie into some other matargashti. I think 2 years back, when I was finding something to watch, I picked up this movie – just because I wasn’t finding anything appealing to watch. And I simply fell in love with this movie despite of its weak story.

Konkana Sen is a talented actress no doubt after her performance in Page 3, but I loved this movie for a lot of other reasons too, so much so that it’s added to my favorite movies list. A movie that I can watch anytime and feel relaxed.

Here are list of things that I simply love about this movie.

1. 1. Sid’s wardrobe!! I love ALL his T-Shirts, I mean first time ever I have fell in love with an actor’s wardrobe in a movie. Look at his T-shirts – Ninja turtles, Scooby Doo, Star war, Flash, Simpson, Hulk, Atom ant, Dastardly, Tom & Jerry, Mickey mouse, Joker, Snoopy, Batman, Ghostbuster. My Favorite is Joker and Batman T-shirts. I don’t have as much patience to put those pics, so I am embedding a link to a blog where the writer has taken enough effort to put screenshots of some of his T-Shirts :) Check them out - http://www.oneknightstands.net/geek-t-shirts-from-wake-up-sid/ .

2. The Opening Scene. I love every little detail in the opening scene. The Justice league wallpaper on the laptop, the comics of Avengers/Star wars etc.., collectibles on the desk, the board with all photos pinned on it, the cartoon calendar, the Calvin Hobbes, his Sid Simpson drawing, the scribbling on notebook, the distraction from studies.. Everything in that scene.

3. 3. The Interior Decoration of Aisha’s flat and Mumbai Beat’s office. I loved both of them. Having done my course in Residential Interior decoration as a hobby, I could not miss even the smallest detail in Aisha’s Room.

4. The Photography!! My favorite hobby and evolving passion; I loved the scenes where he walks around with camera clicking the pictures. I enjoyed watching the clicks/photos in scenes throughout the movie.

5. 5. Mumbai City! I had spent early years of my childhood in Mumbai, but then moved to hometown in Karnataka. So I do visit Mumbai once in a while but I would call myself a stranger to the city, since it’s been ages that I have spent quality time in Mumbai. But this movie makes you fall in love with the city. The samundar, the streets, the skyline – it’s all very refreshing. I am soooo wanting to capture Mumbai in my camera this time I visit India.

6. Ranbir’s acting as Sid. I simply love his expressions and the way, the style in which he talks. He pulled off the character very well. Of the new generation of heroes, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Ranbir Kapoor are 3 actors that I enjoy watching on screen; I feel they do justice to the characters they portray in the movies.

7. Aisha’s dialogue – “Tumhe kabhi laga hai ki apna ghar ho, apna khana khud banao, apne paise khud kamao aur udao. Sab kuch apna banaya hua ho. Independence you know what I mean”:) something that even I used to dream of and happily achieved too :)

8. 8. The Friendship! Sid (Ranbir), Rishi (Namit) and Laxmi (Shikha) share a great chemistry and look good on screen as close buddies.

9. 9. Music. I loved all the songs. But my favorite is the title song “wake up Sid”. Especially the para

“Yeh jo kahe woh jo kahe sun lo, Batien jo sahi dil ko lagey chun lo.

Karna hai kya tumhe yeh tumhi karo faisla.

Yeh soch lo tumko jana hai kahan, tum hi musafir tum hi toh ho karwa..”

10. And last but not the least; movie has a character with my name –“Sarita”; Sid’s mom :) I realized that when I watched this movie again yesterday in order to fill in details for this review.

Well, with this I have accomplished the task of writing my first movie review. This definitely is not the best movie one can watch, it lacks a lot of things, but I still enjoy watching this movie :)

-Sarita
(Dated: 29 July 2014)

Comments

Uncovered, Not Exposed

After ages of procrastination, I finally decided to try formal art classes. I had always feared that rules would take the fun out of my art. Art is where I go to unwind and let my mind wander, and the idea of placing boundaries in that safe space never sat well with me. But this year, I signed up for weekend spring classes; telling myself to keep an open mind and take in only what resonated. I was intimidated - I didn't know if this would draw me deeper into art or push me away. To my surprise, it was overwhelming, but in the best possible way. The reason for this post is however not to cover my art journey ( I have just started so I will give it some time to settle in ); but instead to capture my thoughts upon observing a profession in real life that I have only watched on screen - Live nude models. And the quiet power of their bare form. I spent an entire day observing nude male and female body for figure drawing, and it blew my mind in ways I had not expected. ...

Ahamasmi Yodha - My First Tattoo

I finally did it. It isn’t a great achievement to show off, but for me it’s one more item on my bucket list getting fulfilled. So I am very happy about it. What did I do? Oh like I said nothing great – I just got my FIRST Tattoo :) My first Tattoo Artist I had done a lot of research on it since last couple of months. I wanted to get it done on my birthday, but it somehow dint work out. For all the first timers, I wanted to list out my personal experience, just in case it helps :) First of all, I felt it will be very helpful if you have some friends who would have got it done already. But I dint have that privilege. So I went through lot of blogs and articles in About.com, Wikihow, YahooAnswers etc… Well Google, the new lord of knowledge :) has all that you need to know. So, in summary, what I got from all these sites were First decide on what you want to get tattooed and where. Go over it again and again, since it is permanent, you will have to live ...

My Favorite Read - 6 - The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev (and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer)

So, now that I want to get into some serious mountaineering activities, I started with reading books on mountains. When you check for top few books on mountains the one that comes up is " Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer " followed by “ The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev" ; both based on the 1996 Everest disaster which was made quite controversial. I started with "Into Thin Air' and while I was reading, I was continuously in conflict with Jon's views. Mind you, my memory is pretty weak when it comes to remembering details of any story - whether its books or movies. I had watched few documentaries and the Everest movie based on this topic; but that was a while ago. when I started reading this book 2 weeks back, I had no background; you can say I was totally new to this story. And yet, it was difficult for me to understand some of Jon's accusations or feelings. But nevertheless, Jon's style of writing was amazing; he knew how to keep reader's...

Zindagi Gulzar Hai - A feast to ones eyes!

Today I am here to make a much interesting comparison of our current Indian TV industry with our neighboring country’s television industry. Interesting because I never thought I would ever engage in watching any of the Pakistan TV series/movies or listening to their music. My disinterest in Pakistan entertainment was not because of the tensed relationship with the country. But I myself am not a big fan of TV serials. The kind of drama that is filled in Indian TV Channels today is just exhausting and tiring to watch. I hardly follow any Indian TV series. When I visit home on vacation, I join my family in watching the program they watch and that’s how I keep myself updated with what is trending in the TV industry. I love listening to music and I listen to all genres of music. I did start listening to Pakistani music since last few years and have admired their music. Strings, Fuzon, Kaavish, Jal, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Parveen Abida, Quratulain Baloch and many ...

Life... A Blank Page!

Whenever I open a notebook and come across the set of blank pages; my mind goes blank. For some reason, it always reminds me of my life. It forces me to start thinking about my life; about the past and the future. Being part of the age of computers and belonging to the IT industry, I hardly get an opportunity to actually pick a pen and write in the notebook. I write lot of blogs, poems etc… but I write them on the webpage or in Microsoft word in my laptop. Once in a while I like to go back to traditional form of writing; using the actual pen and paper. And in last few years; I noticed that every time I try doing that for some reason the blank paper gets me all philosophical. Although I never have that thought while opening the book; but whenever I see those blank pages; I just go blank. I always feel that my life is staring back at me with all those unanswered silenced questions, doubts, thoughts…forcing me to think – What does my lif...

Another Day, Another Night, Another Year.

This year has been interesting. Strange and interesting. Yu's "Go where the wind is" song best describes my mood for 2024. It went by fast yet it felt like an eternity. It was exhausting at times for reasons I don't know. I can't describe it in words. Of course, 2024 had its moments. A new country, a new language, a new fitness goal and many memorable experiences. Some good ones and others unwanted. It's just the general mood of 2024. It's been kind of heavy on my mind, my heart. Not on the negative side, nothing sad or painful. Just ... Anyway, want to just record this monologue somewhere before this year ends, so here goes nothing. Jeff Satur's Dum Dum, Lake of Bays Forest Floor, Machu Picchu shots, Dominos Pizza, Rainy night, The Demon Slayer comic strip, Some scribbles, Random notes, Uke plucking, Wang Yibo's smile, The Double C drama and the Fireworks outside. Just some of the last moments of 2024. Thank you 2024, you have been good to me...

Arijit Singh - I Bow to You.

It's been a while that I have liked any latest songs. Songs from 80s and ghazals still play when I am in mood for some good music. Not that there hasn't been good music in recent past. But after a long time this song touched my soul. Arijit Singh had made it to my list of favorites long back. But he was still not in that elite league of singers to whom my head bows with respect - Jagjit Singh, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd. Rafi, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan, Bhimsen Joshi and M S Subbulaxmi . ( I am not listing the musicians here; just the singers who humble my heart and soul. I have a different list of elite musicians and directors and actors covering Yanni, Kenny G, Pancham Da, Hans Zimmer, Madhubala, K K menon, Aamir Khan and so on; whom I duly respect. But this post is dedicated to singers. ) I had been to Raazi movie last week and heard this song for the first time - Ae watan. I heard it again after that with my headphones on, eyes closed;and I just surrender...

The Year That Quietly Reset My Life.

A lot has happened this year and a lot went unaccomplished. 2025 once again reminded me of how unpredictable life is, how life happens when we are busy making other plans. Life surprises us and life shocks us. There were many good things this year - backpacking entire Central America for a month and half, meeting new people, reconnecting with old school friends, learning Japanese and many other such memorable moments. But earlier this year while training for dragon boat race competition, I was diagnosed with a idiopathic health condition, that threw a wrench in my lifestyle. All those lab tests, scans for a person who rarely saw a doctor for years was stressful. Although it got diagnosed early because of my attention to health stats; not knowing the root cause for the illness nor being able to determine the length of the treatment plan disheartened me. At the time, I kind of understood a non-smoker’s reaction to being diagnosed with cancer; that reaction of “But I never smoked onc...

My Brightest Star

You were very different from the others. The way you spoke about stars and universe, it was like you were part of them. I never understood your language, but I always enjoyed listening to you. It was so romantic when you spoke with such passion about universe. That friend of yours, Hubble, the way you discussed it's findings with so much excitement, I used to fall in love with you over and over again. The way you waited like a child outside the tent in freezing nights, to get the glimpse of milkyway, would always make me hug and kiss you. The nebulae, constellations, meteor showers, comets and so many such words, that I never knew before I met you; I started learning about them from you. For me everything was just a twinkling star in the dark night sky. You introduced me to them with names, like they were your friends, like they all were talking to you, like they all had some purpose. I thought you were crazy, but then I understood why you were so crazy about them. I still s...

My Favorite Read - 2 - Hum If You Dont Know The Words by Bianca Marais

A novel that unravels details of South Africa from apartheid era. A story telling by two different people coming from opposite backgrounds. A book of emotions so closely knit with the characters that you really cannot resist getting emotionally involved yourself. 'Hum If You Don't Know The Words' I am not sure how many of you are aware of apartheid era, and even if you know all about it, this book shows the experiences from both sides of the players; and that's completely different from what you learn from your history books or wikipedia. For me, this book took me deep into the world of South African society during the 1970s; letting me experience the thoughts and feelings of both a white child and a black mother. Like the book says 'Divided by the colors of their skin, their paths should never have crossed' Somewhere, I don't recall if it was a movie or a book, a person asks why people even bother to study history, why waste time on...

When Silence Speaks...

Search This Blog