Wake Up Sid

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.

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.

At the 55th Filmfare Awards, Wake Up Sid received 9 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Mukerji), Best Actor (Kapoor) and Best Supporting Actress (Pathak), and won 3 awards – Best Actor (Critics) (Kapoor), Best Debut Director (Mukerji, tying with Zoya Akhtar for Luck by Chance), and Best Female Playback Singer (Kavita Seth for "Iktara").

Siddharth “Sid” Mehra a gifted yet lethargic and aimless young man, is in his final year of college, indifferent toward academics despite his prodigious intellect.

The son of a wealthy businessman, Ram Mehra, Sid enjoys an indulgent lifestyle, enabled by his mother, Sarita, who, despite her frustrations, continues to coddle him.

At his college’s farewell party, Sid meets Aisha Banerjee, an ambitious writer newly arrived from Kolkata, determined to carve a career at Mumbai Beat, a prestigious magazine.

When Sid tentatively broaches the idea of a romantic relationship, Aisha dismisses the notion, stating that he lacks ambition and does not align with her ideals.

Aisha secures her position at Mumbai Beat under the urbane Kabir Chaudhary, while Sid, upon receiving his exam results, is devastated to learn that he has failed.

Their cohabitation is rife with challenges—Sid, unfamiliar with domestic responsibilities, struggles with cooking and maintaining order, while Aisha, immersed in her demanding job, finds his presence increasingly exasperating.

Recognizing his potential, Aisha introduces him to Amit, a photography director at Mumbai Beat, who, impressed by Sid’s work, offers him an internship.

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.

Subhash K. Jha from Bollywood Hungama 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.

"[6] Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times 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'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.

"[8] Noyon Jyoti Parasara of AOL 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.

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.

"[11] In one point of criticism, Sudhish Kamath of Chennai's The Hindu labeled the closing moments as a "stock-ending" and noted that, despite the film's overall effectiveness, the ending "leaves you a little disappointed.

[23][24] 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.