Cast: Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Diana Penty, Meghna Malik, Neev Ahuja, Mahesh Thakur, Abhimanyu Singh, Adah Sharma, Mrunal Thakur
Director: Raj Mehta
It seems Bollywood has a originality problem given the number of adaptations and remakes that the industry is fast churning out to play safe the formula of earlier popular stories.
In a time and age where the originals are available on streamers a click away, subtitled or dubbed in various languages for a global audience, why such attempts are made beats us.
The entire COVID and post pandemic releases have been nothing original. The remake of Vikram Vedha, Jersey,Dhrishyam, Mili and then internationally borrowed plots like Thank God, Laal Singh Chaddha, Andhadhun, Badla, Loop Lapeta, Badla, Girl on the Train and Intern – all point towards a certain originality bankruptcy in this industry. The bigger indication seems to be the propensity of makers and actors to play it safe with stories and plots that have worked before.
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Ignoring the dated plot, Selfiee does the same. It is the official Hindi remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence. The latter starred Prithviraj Sukumaran as a superstar who publicly clashes with his fan, a motor vehicle inspector played by Suraj Venjaramoodu.
While quite entertaining, Driving Licence originally told a story of human nature, the dynamics that automatically come into play when egos clash, the power of the smallest cog in the government machinery, the politics of the film industry, the ephemeral nature of celebritydom in the era of sensationalist TV news and many such sub-plots.
A rendezvous is arranged through a local corporator (Meghna Malik) so that Om Prakash, who is Vijay’s diehard fan, can fulfil his dream of getting a selfie with the actor while also being in a position to explain himself if questions are raised about how a star’s licence was expedited when the general public is put through the grind by his office. But things go haywire when the corporator leaks the information of the actor arriving at the Motor Vehicles department to the media who create a havoc at the scene. Vijay blames Om Prakash for the mess and refuses to click the Selfie with him. And then starts the battle of the egos between the two men, peppered enough by the media and the fans.
The Hindi screenplay by Rishhabh Sharrma makes Akshay Kumar’s character an enigmatic super-hero for his fans and the screen.
Selfiee is posher than Driving Licence, possibly because of the background score, bollywoodish scenes, stylized sequences and of course loud song ‘n’ dance included in the narrative as an introduction for Om Prakash and his son (Neev Ahuja).
The Main Khiladi Tu Anari– a landmark number from Akshay’s career just before the credit rolls seems like an ode the the super star’s career. But what we missed here was just the plotline that kept us on the edge. Missed the remote. yes. We did. The young women of the movie ( Nushratt Bharucha and Diana Penty) paired with 50+ aged men is another glowing tribute the industry mired with ageism.
The movie is produced by Star Studios and will release on Disney Hotstar and Hulu soon.
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