scorecardresearch
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeFeaturesReel TakeAkshay Kumar’s Selfiee is another lukewarm Bollywood remake. Watch only for Emraan...

Akshay Kumar’s Selfiee is another lukewarm Bollywood remake. Watch only for Emraan Hashmi

Sometimes, it feels like Selfiee is doing positive PR for Bollywood—by trying to pin it all on the ‘boycott’ trend.

Follow Us :
Text Size:
ThePrint Take
Overall

Raj Mehta, who last made waves in 2019 with Good-Newwz, is back with a new mass entertainer. But Selfiee—based on the 2019 Malayalam film Driving License—is yet another remake in a sea of remakes, with a few tweaks here and there. From taking digs at #BoycottBollywood to criticising Indian media, there is a lot that this film tries to pack in its 147-minute run time.

Bollywood superstar Vijay Kumar (Akshay Kumar) must obtain a new driving license to shoot a scene for his film in Bhopal. A Regional Transport Officer, Om Prakash Agarwal (Emraan Hashmi) and his son are diehard fans of Vijay and hope to get a ‘selfie’ with him someday. Local politician Vimla (Meghna Malik) assures Vijay that she can quickly arrange a license for him. Hearing this, Om Prakash finally sees his dream come true, as Vijay would have to come to him to get the license made. But a small misunderstanding between the two snowballs into a feud that eventually plays out in front of the entire country.


A decent cast drives the plot

We have already watched the 2016 Shah Rukh Khan starrer Fan, where he plays both a celebrity and his deranged, obsessed admirer. So the simultaneous comparison is almost inevitable. Akshay, too, plays mostly himself but with a dash of Hera Pheri-like dialogues. He does a decent job alternating between the larger-than-life ‘hero’ and a parent-to-be.

However, it is Emraan Hashmi who holds the film with his impeccable performance. While he can’t match Shah Rukh in Fan, Hashmi brings a wholesome, earnest touch that makes you root for him even as the film villainises him. Witnessing his bond with his son is endearing, especially as he goes against Vijay to become his hero. Wide-eyed admiration, anger, resentment to revenge, Hashmi portrays all emotions with flair.

The chemistry between Akshay and Emraan is not livewire but is interesting enough.

Diana Penty plays Vijay’s wife, Naina, while Nushratt Bharucha plays Om’s wife, Minty. They have supporting roles and don’t get a lot of screen time. But Nushrat, thanks to her great comic timing, is admirable as a middle-class homemaker. Penty, on the other hand, feels wholly avoidable. The chemistry between her and Akshay is lukewarm at best. Emran and Nushrat feel more relatable and endearing.

Abhimanyu Singh evokes the most laughs as Selfiee’s eccentric villain and Vijay’s Bollywood rival. From doing B-grade movies and ads to hiring tarot-card readers and plotting Vijay’s ruin, Singh is ludicrous as Suraj. Meghna Malik also holds her own as an opportunistic politician and yes-woman who wants to hog the spotlight at all costs.


Also read: Netflix’s You is back with its charming serial killer Joe, London’s elite & more murder


Cancel culture, TRP-driven media

Now, let’s come to all that doesn’t land. The Dharma production film takes a major dig at the ‘cancel Bollywood’ culture that started with the death of Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020 and plagues the industry even today. An exaggerated Arnab Goswami-like anchor elicited many laughs from the audience as he screamed himself hoarse over the issue of Vijay’s driving license. It also highlights how the media will choose the side that has the most potential to ‘win’ as opposed to the right one.

There are moments when it feels like Selfiee is doing positive PR for Bollywood by trying to pin it all on a trend and keeping the industry’s faults under wraps.

The film also picks at the Indian fan culture—as eager to celebrate an actor as it is to bring him down—but only manages to scratch the surface. That said, Emraan and Abhimanyu make Selfiee bearable, even if Akshay’s charm is not enough to pull you to theatres anymore.

(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

Raj Mehta, who last made waves in 2019 with Good-Newwz, is back with a new mass entertainer. But Selfiee—based on the 2019 Malayalam film Driving License—is yet another remake in a sea of remakes, with a few tweaks here and there. From taking digs...Akshay Kumar’s Selfiee is another lukewarm Bollywood remake. Watch only for Emraan Hashmi