Wake Up Sid

About the film

Wake Up Sid is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Dharma Productions. It stars Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma. Set in contemporary Mumbai, the film tells the story of a careless rich college brat (Kapoor) taught the value of owning up to responsibility by an aspiring writer (Sen Sharma) from Kolkata.

Wake Up Sid was released on 2 October 2009, and proved to be a commercial success at the box office. It received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with critical acclaim for its novel concept, themes, direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, and cast performances.

Plot

Siddharth “Sid” Mehra, a gifted but aimless young man, is in his final year of college, indifferent to academics despite his intelligence. The son of wealthy businessman Ram Mehra, Sid leads an indulgent lifestyle, enabled by his caring mother, Sarita. His academic effort is negligent—barely studying before exams. Afterward, he celebrates with friends, oblivious to the consequences.

Sid's father offers him a Porsche if he works at the family company for a month. Though initially enticed, Sid soon tires of the corporate environment and quits, giving up the promised car.

At his college farewell party, Sid meets Aisha Banerjee, an ambitious writer from Kolkata who dreams of succeeding at Mumbai Beat magazine. Intrigued by her independence, Sid questions her resolve, but Aisha confidently affirms her aspirations.

Production

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.

Release

Wake Up Sid released on 2 October 2009, coinciding with the Gandhi Jayanti extended weekend.

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.

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

Reception

Wake Up Sid opened well in India and overseas markets. Its opening weekend gross was ₹215 million (US$2.3 million) of which the domestic gross was ₹170 million (US$1.8 million). 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.

Wake Up Sid received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with high praise for its novel concept, themes, direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack and performances of the cast.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The soundtrack was released on 21 August 2009 to positive reviews. Amit Trivedi, who provided the film's background score, guest-composed the song "Iktara", its reprise and extended version, all of which featured vocals by frequent collaborator Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Key details