Wake up Sid Review - Big Home Video Version I was looking forward to this BD for some time and with issues of its playability reported on Sony players did put me off slightly as I use a Sony S350 which is one of the Sony players that refuses to play the disc. I was getting impatient and couldn’t source a UTV version (not sure if it works on Sony players/PS3). My friend who buys every Bollywood BD told me that he has got the BHV version and it plays on his Samsung BD player. He was too kind to bring his BD as well as the player to my place yesterday and we watched it together on my projector. I tried my Sony S350 but it didn’t work (mad) but the Samsung played it fine.
How was the BD? Honestly speaking, after quite a long time I enjoyed a bollywwod movie on BD and it was one of my movie viewing evenings where I simply enjoyed the movie as well as the BD and felt quite positive about the whole experience ...read on....
The Movie I normally don’t write movie reviews here but since I had a great evening watching this, I thought of writing a bit about the movie . I didn’t watch this movie at the theatre and only watched it on DVD a few months back. This movie is honest, fresh and very modern yet meaningful to values of our life. I really liked Ayan’s direction and even though it’s his first film, he has shown what is capable of. Throughout the film, if you look closely, you will see glimpses of a fine director in the making. He is not perfect but he has shown us how a simple story can be told that everyone can connect to in modern times. The best thing is he didn’t dramatise the story. This basic subject of the film has been used in some other bollywood films in the past, but they all failed to do justice making the films just another bollywood typical hero heroine movie. The script, dialogues and little touches in places makes this movie work and connect to the urban audience.
Both Konkona and Ranbir in lead roles are fantastic. Konkona is one of the finest actors in India today and I am happy to see Ranbir doing such a wonderful job as well. He is going to be a fine actor and I only hope he keeps his focus on acting and not on stardom. We need more good actors and not stars. Well done Ranbir. A lot of seniors including SRK and others should learn from this guy. I always believe that an actor is successful only if people can relate to the character he/she is playing and not the star behind it. This is why I like Aamir Khans’s movies and I can see the same in Ranbir. He is ‘Sid’ and no one else even after the movie ended. This is called great acting and getting into the character. Kudos....
The rest of the cast were excellent too and this movie is a great example of perfect ensemble cast. Everyone acted naturally without any drama / overacting (which is typical bollywood affair). The only weak point to me is Sid’s mother (minor niggle).
Apart from acting and directing, the two other things that helped the movie are
- Cinematography and Art direction – Mumbai looked very different and fresh in limited scope and look at the attention to detail on sets that are not over the top but makes you feel you could be there and fall in love.
- Background Score – Just fantastic. You don’t get this kind of treatment in Bollywood movies and it helped the film immensely in its narrative. The use of light guitars, ambient sounds and tracks are blended so well that while you are watching the movie, you kind of get inside it. Again highly praiseworthy.
The movie didn’t do well in the rural parts and it was never intended to be a masala movie for the masses and I am happy that Karan Johar being the producer of this movie supported in going ahead with this film. WUS is one of the few new age movies of Bollywood where the new generation of directors have shown that thinking out of box is possible, happening and it is there to stay. It is movies like WUP, Dev D, Johnny Gaddar, Jab We met etc, I am seeing a lot of hope for Bollywood. After seeing a series of pathetic comedies, hopeless romantic films nonsense masala garbage, this movie was like a detox for me.
Overall, a fine movie to collect with terrific repeat view value. It could have been made slightly better but given Ayan’s first attempt, this is praiseworthy. I can see a new age of talended directors and quality film making in coming days. Look forward to Ayan’s and Ranbir’s next .
Blu-Ray ReviewI am happy to say that this BD is one of the finest I have watched so far and if you have read my other reviews so far, you might have noticed that I am quite critical about quality of BDs from India. This one has floored me with its presentation in terms of both Video and Audio. I’ll try to explain why this BD gets my top ratings:)
Picture Quality+ PointsThe picture quality of this BD is very different from BD’s you have seen so far from Bollywood. Confused?? Let me explain.
Most movies released so far from Bollywood (apart from Saawariya, Jodhaa Akbar and partly Ghajini) appears more processed video like and digital than filmic. Unfortunately, the last 10-15 bollywood BDs I have seen – all appear video like and nowhere near filmic. Many like a video like digital image but I like filmic presentation of movies and this is one area where Hollywood has made BDs more enjoyable than Bollywood. WUS thankfully has achieved that and it was a viewing pleasure.
People who like a digital video like presentation may find a filmic presentation bit darker and with less contrast (I am talking about Digital contrast). But the fact is films are meant to look that filmic. I have also noticed that many ppl mention that Hollywood movies appear darker. The reason is they are shot that way to look filmic and ppl who prefer a digital look may not like that. Too much TV viewing can also creata bias for Digital Video image liking.
The BD is a treat for the eye. Colors, contrast, blacks, sharpness are all excellent. The filmic nature of the presentation creates an immersive and soothing experience. I’d recommend everyone to watch this BD with the right
D65 color temp. It is a treat watching on a projector. The actual image looks so much better than the screenshots (screenshots are not seen in a color calibrated display anyway) You are going to love this one.
The two biggest issue that have plagued the Bollywwod BDs so far are
- Raised / Crushed Black level
- Overdone contrast boosting a video like image
- Color issues
And I am happy to say the WUS BD is the 3rd Indian BD after Saawariya and Jodha Aakbar that do not have these issues at all. Awesome presentation.
There are many instances where the whites could have blown out against a contrasty scene - look at the window behind Anupam Kher when Sid goes to meet his father. The window on any other Bolly BD due to processed contrast would have blown out, but you could actually see the sky with no highlights. Another scene is where Sid is having an arguement with Aisha before leaving her place – look at the panel window behind Sid. You can clearly see each panel (bokeh-ed) and they appear distinctly without any highlights. A great achievement by the guys who authored this BD. Kudos to you.
Every frame looks wonderful and detail is fantastic. I didn’t see any objectionable DNR or EE and that makes it more appealing while watching. BD presentation at its finest.
- PointsActually I couldn’t find any negative points even with my critical eyes but still would like to add a few things (please note these are very very minor things and not a defect but you could say my preference)
- A little more grain could have been retailed.
- One or two points reduction on brightness (black level) – very minor
- One or two point contrast increase would have helped (I used one step higher Iris on my projector to compensate but not a huge issue)
Truly awesome and I enjoyed the PQ immensely. I will buy the BD in a heartbeat now once the playability issue is sorted.
Audio QualityAgain, excellent presentation on the DTS MA track. To me, this is one of the finest HD audio presentations in a bollywood BD. Most bollywood BDs have a louder soundtrack which many prefer. The thing that matters most is not the loudness rather, the richness of the audio quality for a balanced output.
The best thing is use of the limited soundtage the sound engineer worked with and he has done a fantastic job.
Dialogues on the BD are clear and detailed. Every little sound and background noise is rendered to create a true surround sensation as and when required. The songs sounded really nice and full.
The use of excellent background scores make this a listening pleasure. It really tickles your senses without being overtly bright and loud. All BD authors should take this into consideration for new BDs. A louder presentation is not the best and often misses out the finer details.
The bass and midrange is going to make you listen to the track over and over again. The guitars used for background score will make you feel that you are right there in the movie. ppl who like very loud audio may get slightly dissapointed but if you listen in relaxed mood, you will understand my point. This is anot a action movie but for what it is, I rate this as one of the top 3 bollywood BD so far in terms of audio.
This is going to be my reference BD for audio quality.
Fantastic AQ and I’d like to thank personally the team who did the authoring for producing such a wonderful BD.
Conclusion:What can I say?
After a long time, I enjoyed a Bollywood BDs without picking on issues. A wonderful film, a nice ensemble cast, a great actor in the making, an emerging and promising director of the new age, wonderful narrative supported by good songs and a great background score and to top it all – a BD that does justice to the PQ and AQ and thereby making it a must to have BD. I have watched movie this before, but the BD actually made my viewing experince an evening to remember. There were food and wine as well
Thanks to the authoring house for doing justice to this BD.
Highly recommended from me. Perfect Concern and appealThe only disappointing this is the playability issue of the BHV BD. If the issue is related to authoring:
I’d like to request BHV and the authoring house to look into this matter and offer a replacement to people. Please understand that it is the happy customer who makes your business and it will be shame if people are not able to watch one of the finest BDs produced in India so far and I hope that you guys want people to see what you have done. Consumers will always support you if you listen to them and repect their rights.
If the UTV version has the same PQ and AQ and works on all players, I am going to buy it but first I need confirmation from consumers.
My RatingVideo: 4.5
Audio: 4.5
Overall Quality Score: 4.5
Review done withDisplay : Infocus IN82 Full HD DC3 DLP Projector
Screen: 90â€
BD Player: Sony S350
Av Amp: Denon AVR 1910 7.1 AV Receiver
Speakers: Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 Surround
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