14 years of ‘Wake Up Sid’: exploring young adult growth and identity

"Wake Up Sid", a movie about a new girl in a big city, maneuvering life and love, was a breather back in 2009. As opposed to the pompous commercial cinemas of Bollywood during that period, its gentle tone and narration calms our mind. "Wake Up Sid" indeed reminds us to find peace in the very mundane, almost maddening metropolitan lives.

"Wake Up Sid" remains iconic in its brilliant cinematography and aesthetic charm. Everything from the monsoons of Mumbai to a little apartment or big parties, are portrayed with such care that one is mesmerized by the visuals. The choice of art for the set designing in the movie is truly pleasant, and indeed remains to be the talk of pop culture even today.

The movie centers around Aisha (Konkona Sensharma), a girl in quest of independence. Setting out in Mumbai, she aims to create her destiny. Her stumbling upon Sid (Ranbir Kapoor), a typical spoiled brat, is indeed a pleasant surprise. But the quirky friendship that develops teach us a lot about the real foundations of identities and relationships.

In Sid, we witness a nonchalance that comes with his privilege. His father's fortunes, shelter him from the realities of life, and issues like pursuing a livelihood seem too boring to him to consider. He is well aware of his privilege, and his defiance to hard work is just as strong of a philosophy as his privilege.

But it is his lack of sensitivity that adds layers to his character. Sid's rudeness to his parents and friends, is at sharp contrast to his otherwise loving persona. His tendency to escape difficulties and often taking it out on others mark the immaturity in him.

The movie explores deeper issues of formation of identity in this part of the world. We see the characters of Sid's parents, played by Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak, and ponder over the upbringing that left him bereft of the realities of life. His tangled-up relationship with his mother, a docile woman, makes us wonder over the dynamics of motherly love and gendered power dynamics. We see the strictness that marks his father's character, with a simultaneous sense of concern underpinning his attitude.

On the other hand, in Aisha's quest of independence and empowerment, we see a defiance of being labeled and binded, and her decision to move out of her hometown hints at the strength of her character.

But being the exact opposite of Sid, one would never imagine a depth in their understanding. But in fact, it is in her that he finds ingenuity, a sharp contrast to the artificial social settings he has to navigate. And in his frivolity, there is an element of rawness that she's unable to find elsewhere, especially when everyone around her is too focused to fit into archetypes.

Their romance is one of the most beautiful depictions of love on silver screen. For Sid was never considered by Aisha to be her dream guy. In fact, in the beginning she blatantly said how she would instead prefer someone focused and sincere like her. But even when she finds someone like that, she feels unfulfilled and empty. And as she experiences the constantly changing city, she realizes that she can experience true comfort and get genuine support only from Sid, someone who might be too immature for her.

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And this is a deep insight of the movie, and this sensitive depiction reminds us that in love and in life, it is okay to sometimes be oblivious about one's true desires. But at the core of everything we do and claim to love, our comfort and inner resonation must be prioritized.