Selfiee review: If you are fine with Akshay Kumar continuing to do Hindi remakes of films from the South, you would definitely enjoy Selfiee.
Selfiee Review : Ayushmann Khurrana recently portrayed a superstar in the movie An Action Hero, in which a young person who wanted to take a photo with the actor died. His brother then gave the superstar a speech about how everything he is is due to the public, so if they want a selfie, actors should comply.
Cut to Akshay Kumar‘s most recent movie, Selfiee, in which the actor portrays a superstar who gets into some type of weird situation with his biggest fan. All this fan wanted was a selfie with his hero, but when the media gets involved, things get ugly and it turns into an argument between a star and his fan.
This Akshay-starring dramedy, a formal remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence, has many lighter moments and is not a frame-for-frame replica of the original (I’ve seen the Malayalam version in bits and pieces). Apart from the main plot, Selfiee has abandoned the original’s sombre themes and replaced them with a lot of humour.
The Selfiee Review follows superstar Vijay Kumar (Akshay) who wants a driving licence urgently to be able to finish the climax of his film and save the producer from incurring losses. His diehard fan, RTO officer Om Prakash Aggarwal (Emraan Hashmi) is given the task to help the actor, and he agrees to fulfil it without following the usual tedious process and asks for a selfie as a gesture in return. But things don’t go as planned and a misunderstanding leads to their feud becoming prime time news, while public has a field day with their juicy fight.
It was after over a year that we saw Emraan Hashmi back on the big screen, and he has a pleasant screen presence though at places, he seemed a bit loud and over-the-top. But, maybe that’s how some diehard fans of superstars are. That they can’t control their emotions on seeing or meeting their ‘gods’. In face-off scenes with Akshay, it’s commendable to see how Emraan manages to hold his ground.
Among the supporting cast, Mahesh Thakur as Vijay’s manager delivers an earnest performance, Meghna Malik as politico Vimla Tiwari is on-point with her comic timing and is given some funny lines. Abhimanyu Singh as Vijay’s contemporary is comic relief and hilarious in scenes, but for someone with his acting calibre, he is completely wasted in the script. And so is Paritosh Tripathi and Kusha Kapila, who appear and disappear as per convenience.
And the ladies are once again neglected or have very little to do in the film. Nushrratt Bharuccha as Om Prakash’s wife is caring but has a quirky side to her. And even though she doesn’t approve of her husband’s obsession with a star, she doesn’t mind flexing in the front of whole colony when the husband is enjoying his 2 minutes of fame on news channels on TV. Diana Penty as Vijay’s wife exists in the script only because there needed to be an emotional arch to the script and that the superstar can use that track to deliver an emotional speech in the climax. Other than that, Diana doesn’t really get much scope to perform or showing her acting chops. Even her scenes with Akshay aren’t anything great or something that will make you sit and take notice of their chemistry.
Speaking of chemistry, I really enjoyed the single Kudiyee Ni Teri Vibe, in which Mrunal Thakur and Akshay groove and light the screen on fire. Even the remixed version of Main Khiladi Tu Anari, which plays during the closing credits, is a surefire party song that shouldn’t be skipped. In summary, Selfiee checks off the majority of the requirements that Hindi cinema audiences have. Therefore, even if you have seen the original Malayalam film, you would undoubtedly enjoy Selfiee if Akshay Kumar continues to create Hindi remakes of South Asian movies.
Everyone wants big-budget performers who can draw crowds back into theatres, after all, aren’t they?
