…wake up, and go watch Sid and Aisha’s sweet little prem kahani. It’s not as perfect as the decor in Sid and Aisha’s home but it’s pretty. Ad yes, the boy gets the girl, a career and his parents too (with their credit card) in the perfect little summation of our consumerist-driven lives.

Everything about the film is so fresh (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy contribute a lot to this) that when the climax finally kicks in with a stock ending borrowed from Hollywood romantic comedies, it leaves you a little disappointed. But then, as you look back at Sid’s journey, you smile and forgive the trappings of the genre. And, Wake Up Sid feels like a fresh morning breeze that wakes you up to a brand new day.

We were just getting used to a superficial attitude of making a film about the woman protagonist, but end up seeing the man claim glory. This one is equally Ranbir’s and Konkona’s. Yes, even though the title of the film contains the protagonist’s name. For a long-long time I’ve been watching out for a Hindi romantic film where the story is about the lead pair. That’s it. Their emotions, their turmoil and nothing else. Love Aaj Kal was close and Wake Up Sid comes even closer.

In the end, Wake Up Sid becomes a sort of template of how GenNow navigate their lives: deal with their own little rebellions, find meaning to their own definitions of independence and handle their own set of mistakes. It feels good when the two friends finally meet in driving rain under the grey skies by the sea. Refreshing and heart-warming, Wake Up Sid really puts you in the mood for love.

Given the clichéd subject, most importantly, the coolness isn’t fake: something most films pretending to be for or about ‘youth’ don’t quite manage to grasp. You can immediately tell the writer-director (Ayan Mukherjee, a heart-felt debut) has lived though the material. So have the actors. I may not mind living through this again.

Wake Up Sid has its heart in place, but it still doesn’t have much of a plot or novelty to rely upon. That’s why the dialogues could have done with a little more quirk and nifty humour. Having said that, a superlative Ranbir makes it too darn hard to notice.

WAKE UP SID, directed by debutante Ayan Mukerji, is like revisiting those years that lay at some remote corner of your mind, after you moved on in life.

Actually, WAKE UP SID is a slice of life film. It’s not merely real in concept, but has also been told most realistically, so much so that you can’t help but draw parallels with your life or with someone you know. But what really makes WAKE UP SID most believable is Ranbir Kapoor, who’s mastered the craft at such a young age.

Wake Up Sid belongs to Ranbir. The actor is pitch perfect as the dazed and confused Sid. He manages to be infuriating, infantile and loveable in the same moment. We root for him from the minute we see his comic-book socks.