I’m 16 years late to this party but I just watched Wake up Sid on Netflix. The Ranbeer Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma starrer was released in 2009 and is a good old coming-of-age movie where the protagonist gets an impressive character arc. Sid, played ever so naturally by Ranbir Kapoor is a spoilt young man who hates studies and resents his father’s successful ‘shower services’ business simply because he’s too cool for them. He’s that typical Indian boy raised by his ever-present mother who apparently finds a life purpose in the act of catering to her son’s needs, even though he is a thankless brat. Sid knows no responsibilities, has no sense of gratitude and assumes that his friends will always be available at his beck and call.
Sid’s character arc is set in motion after he fails his exams in college and leaves home after an angry fallout with his father. He has a friend in the city – Aisha (played by Konkona) – whom he relies on for support but she often puts him in his place. He imposes himself on her cosy apartment and causes her plenty of trouble but she not only copes, but helps him find his passion, eventually land a job and reunite with his parents, after which they realize they’re in love and the movie ends on a happy note.
I wouldn’t say it’s a great movie but it is entertaining enough to watch at one go. However, having watched it 16 years after it was first released, it makes me realize that Wake up Sid is one of those films that ruined an entire generation of kids by glamourizing the rebellion spirit and undermining jobs that actually run the world. Sid’s father had established a successful business from scratch – a testimony to his commitment and ability. The business wasn’t remotely as glamourous as photography or writing but it served a real purpose in everyday lives of common people and employed a number of people as well. Sid’s presence at the office were cinematographed in such a way that it makes the audience perceive his father’s business as a terrible experience for a young man. Moreover, Sid’s behaviour at college and his attitude towards academics are glamorously lethargic – he prefers partying and hanging out with friends instead of making efforts to at least pass an exam.
Sid ends up landing a job at a popular magazine as an assistant photographer – something he’s ‘passionate’ about. It comes extremely easy to him: he ends up having the job within a month of getting out of his father’s home. Sure, creative jobs like running a magazine, writing and photography are important in this world but movies like Wake up Sid instil the idea that such jobs are the cooler areas of life where young people must aspire to belong. The fact that even getting an entry to spaces like that are a challenge are not depicted in films; it’s a lesson they must learn in real life.
The idea of academics and businesses being a bore while arts and creativity being the more ‘alive’ areas is posing a threat to the education system, and world in general. Students’ perceptions have been significantly altered by now and we’re all seeing the way generations since Gen-Z are coping with the world. Movies like Wake up Sid constituting popular culture is one of the reasons for this educational crisis in India and no one knows what to do. So no, I did not exactly like the film. Bollywood has notoriously villainized normal aspects of life and called them boring, and now the parents and teachers are maneuvering through the consequences of that. We need more films where achievers are talked about and applauded as opposed to ones like this.
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