Sanchita
Selfiee is a decently entertaining remake of Driving Licence. However, Akshay Kumar doesn’t wholly bring the Superstar energy to Emraan Hashmi’s devoted fan act, making the dynamic look bland.
Read Full Selfiee Movie Review –
Rating: 2.5/5
Director: Raj Mehta (Jugjugg Jeeyo fame)
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Diana Penty and Nushrat Bharucha
Runtime: 2 hours 28 mins
Storyline:
Superstar Vijay Kumar (Akshay) misplaces his license and is unable to attain a duplicate one due to some trouble. He urgently needs to submit it so that his latest project can resume filming the climax, which requires him to shoot driving scenes.
His diehard fan RTO Inspector Om Prakash Agarwal (Emraan) is all too willing to help him procure a new license quickly without the proper hassle. In return, he and his son just desire a selfie with their favourite Superstar.
Though initially reluctant, the Superstar obliges his request and lands up at the office early in the morning. However, Vijay is displeased to find the media crowding the site. They have already begun flashing headlines painting him as a hypocrite for preaching about road safety while driving without a license all along!
Vijay lashes out at Om Prakash – believing he called the media to have his 2-minutes of fame. Angry about being humiliated in front of his son, Om Prakash then challenges the Superstar in front of the media – that he will only get the license if he passes all the proper learner and road tests.
Watch Selfiee to see how this battle between a Superstar and his fan plays out –
Also Read: (Selfiee Actor Akshay Kumar BREAKS THIS Guinness World Record?)
What Do We Think:
For the unversed, Selfiee is the remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence, which starred Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjarammoodu in the lead.
Selfiee is a decently entertaining remake. The plot has majorly been kept the same with a few tweaks here and there. One of the main changes in the storyline is – the reason why the Superstar wants to accompany his wife to America. Instead of medical tests, he is shown wanting to be there for the birth of their child – happening via surrogacy.
What worked so wonderfully in Driving Licence is the tense dynamic between Prithviraj-Suraj. Here in Selfiee, the adoring fan-turned-vengeful act seems hollow. Emraan tries to do his role earnestly and he succeeds partly but the energy from Akshay doesn’t match or meet him halfway.
In the original, the aura of a mighty star clashing against the wrath of a scorned fan – seemed to wholly permeate the scenes. But here in Selfiee, the heat is somehow missing. Akshay gives a fatigued, monotonous performance – instead of watching a larger-than-life Superstar, it feels like one is watching him mouth glibly along a TV Ad. It feels like he is the exact same as he was in the past 5 films – energy-wise.
The last car scene in the climax of Driving Licence was emotional – a heart-to-heart between a frustrated Star and a fan who feels wronged but still continues to adore him. In Selfiee, the same scene fails to have that level of emotional impact – largely because Akshay just seems weary instead of empathetic, while Emraan does his best to come off as a devoted fan.
What Selfiee does do well is the spoofy play on the ugly media trials and the inflammatory Boycott Bollywood hashtags that tend to trend at the drop of the hat!
Since Selfiee largely revolves around the clash between the male leads, Diana Penty and Nushrat Bharucha are reduced to having a brief screentime, playing their wives. Kusha Kapila has a cameo as a ditzy tarot card reader for Abhimanyu Singh who plays Akshay’s rival and saboteur in the film.
Apart from the remixed Main Khiladi Tu Anari, the songs in Selfiee are nothing to write home about.
Hit Or Miss:
Overall, Selfiee is a fun flick if you haven’t watched the original. Driving Licence had a lot more heart though. Catch Selfiee in theatres if you’re in the mood for an Akshay Kumar film –
