Five reason to watch Masaan

1.      Varanasi – Varanasi, one of the oldest and spiritual city, has almost been portrayed as a character in Masaan. Rather an unconventional setting for bollywood movies. As an increasing number of bollywood movies chose foreign countries as their location. The director and the cinematographer has captured its beauty , rigid values, charm of the ghats and complexities of the lives of the people living there.All these attributes has been very beautifully knit with the storyline of the movie.

2.      The theme of life and death and everything that lies in between – Masaan, unlike other bollywood movies has portrayed the theme of entropy, destruction and ressuraction. Also the Dom community, which rarely finds any place in Bollywood movies is shown here in Masaan. The caste differenceand the dark side of the society is intricately related to the plot.So, with its unconventional theme and stark difference when compared with other bollywood flicks, Masaan is completely worth watching.

3.      Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal and Sanjay Misra – Richa Chadda, a well known face in Bollywood, has nailed has nailed her character of the headstrong Devi beautifully. Hers is the character of a girl who inspite of being involved in a scandal, does not fear to look into the eyes of her father.

Vicky Kaushal as Deepak, a boy from the Dom community , who studies civil engeneering, keeps us glued to the screen with his seasoned acting.

Sanjay Misra, playing Vidyadhar Paathak, portrays his character efortlessly.

Watch the movie for them.

4.      The hopeless and red balloon love story  - Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi play lovers in the movie. Starting with a social netwaorking site their love blooms. Theirs is an old school romance. The coule goes in a long bike ride, shares food and can be seen stealing kisses under the Peepal tree. The girl, Shalu belongs to an upper caste- she loves poetry and music , while Deepak belongs to the Dom community, Their love story provides relief from the otherwise tense plot.

5.      Th Music – The music is the soul of Masaan . Indian Ocean’s songs in the movie gives us the earthy flavour. Man Kasturi Re and Tu Kisi Rail Se Guzarti Hain are sensuous and wonderfully melodious.                                                                                                                                             

Revisiting Wake Up Sid

Director: Ayan Mukherji

Cast: Ranbeer Kapoor, Konkona SenSharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak, Rahul Khanna.

Rating: 8/10.

Debutant director Ayan Mukerji’s Wake Up Sid, comes with a fresh air amidst Bollywood’s not –so – real, masala movies. It is both simple and magical and is weaved beautifully by Mukherji. The movie has something more to it than just a coming – of- age story. It mirrors a slice of life.

Twenty something Siddharth Mehera/ Sid( played by Ranbeer Kapoor), a carefree, lazy, slacker and also a rich kid who spends his dad’s money on expensive clothes, discotheques, etc.lives in Mumbai and encounters Aisha Banerjee( played by Konkona Sen Sharma); she is a few years older than him and also a complete antithesis to his character. Aisha is confident, independent and has definite goals in life. She is the sort who reads Murakami and Tagore and probably watches Woody Allen movies( notice the  Annie  Hall poster hanging on the wall of her apartment). After a rift with his father Sid moves into Aisha’s cuddly apartment and thus begins his waking up process in life.

But apart from the storyline  what is more intriguing are the protagonists- Sid and Aisha. We relate to both of them and love almost everything about them. Sid’s attitude of living in the moment, his love for photography, his method of preparing the birthday cake for Aisha are all such things which keeps us glued to the screen. And Ranbeer Kapoor fits easily into the character. Also Aisha’s style, her love for books( the way she smells books), her fetish for cleanliness, her confused state in the matters of heart are the things with which we can relate to. Sensharma known for appearing mainly in parallel cinema and talented acting skills puts life to Aisha’s character. Also Anupam Kher as Sid’s father and Supriya Pathak as Sid’s English learning mother are apt for their roles. Rahul Khanna as Aisha’s handsome boss also deserves mentioning. With his minimal acting he manages to portray his character with ease. Sid’s two friends also are worth mentioning.

Mukherji all through the movie maintains a laid back narrative. The happenings in the movie are familiar but his way of handling them makes them look quite different. Instead of including lip locking scenes the director has peppered up the movie with various tender moments. The editing is also brilliant and do not get a chance to stifle the yawn.

The music very efficiently helps us to have a look into Sid and Aisha’s minds. Iktara by Rekha Bharadwaj and Boondon ke Moti are refreshing. The English number So Close is also equally good.

But Wake Up Sid has its shortcomings also – the film is about every urban youth and only they who have grown up in cities can relate. The ending too is a bit Hollywood like.

Overall with simple yet breathtaking scenes , realistic characters and feel good moments Wake Up Sid is a must watch.