Selfiee Movie Review: Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi film rides on performances and comic first half MGG

Plot:

Vijay Kumar (Akshay Kumar) is one of Indian Cinema’s most celebrated superstars, who doesn’t have fans but loyalists. One of his die-hard fan is Om Prakash Aggarwal (Emraan Hashmi), an RTO inspector from Bhopal. On reaching Bhopal for a shoot, Vijay Kumar discovers that his driving license was misplaced long back and is yet to be renewed. Seeking help from the local corporator, Vijay decides to visit the local RTO office to fetch his license and that’s when the things around goes for a toss. A series of incidents turns Vijay Kumar’s biggest fan – Om Prakash Aggarwal – into his biggest nightmare. What happens next? The story unfolds in Selfiee.

What works?

Selfiee rides on an extremely entertaining first half, that establishes the conflict with the use of quirky one-liners and fast paced narrative. Director Raj Mehta along with writer, Risshabh Sharma adapt the original film primarily by tweaking the dialogues, as the narrative and plot points follow the same route. The director succeeds in establishing the character of Emraan Hashmi as a passionate fan and hence, the idea of him being hurt by the actions of his favourite superstar also leaves an impact.

The self-depreciating humour around Akshay Kumar’s character is hilarious – and ones who know the traits of Khiladi over the years, will react to it even better. The character of Abhimanyu Singh, who plays the role of a contemporary to Vijay Kumar in the Hindi Film Industry, is a riot. He brings out a laughter at every appearance, and keeps the entertainment quotient intact. The media trail portions too work in the initial hour of the film, before slipping into the “yeh toh too much hogaya zone” in the second half.

What doesn’t work?

While the first half of Selfiee is an entertaining affair, the humour dries down in the second half as the story switches it’s base to drama. The conflict of Selfiee (much like Driving License) is too small to be woven into a 2 and a half hour long feature film. This results in the second half being dragged with some prolonged confrontations between the two leads. The sequence of driving license test does nothing but adds on to the runtime, whereas the finale act too doesn’t land as well as expected. Thankfully, the 10 minutes, once the conflict is resolved is delightful and brings about a laughter. It ensures that you leave cinema halls with a smile.

Another issue with Selfiee for the general audience might be what worked for us in the first half. While the humour is point on, it’s too industry driven and some might be disconnected with this zone of humour.  The music isn’t in sync with the world of the film, and the story probably warranted better situations for the songs. Main Khiladi Tu Anari is however a fun dance number towards the end credit.

Performances

Akshay Kumar shines as Vijay Kumar. He brings in a certain aura and charm to the on-screen character of a superstar. It was absolute fun to see him mouth those quirky one-liners after a long time. Selfiee is yet another film where Akshay wins over with his comic time, specially in the first half, and makes us wait to see him in an out and out mad cap entertainer. Emraan Hashmi is sincere as Om Prakash Aggarwal, and stands tall in front of Akshay’s personality. He has those elements of a die-hard fan, and hence the rage seems believable to a certain point. Abhimanyu Singh is a riot and a prime example of anti-casting. It’s a surprise to see the actor in a comic avatar as through the years, we have just seen him playing a gangster from small town in most of the films. Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty make a brief appearance in the film, and are fine in their respective parts. The rest of the ensemble do well in their respective roles.

Verdict

Selfiee is a one time watch that has entertaining elements in the first half with drama taking over in the second hour of the film. Watch it to get the shades of the witty Akshay Kumar side by side a sincere Emraan Hashmi. The Raj Mehta directorial has promising moments at regular intervals, but certainly warranted a better and tighter second half. The film’s theatrical prospects will be limited as the conflict appears to be  too small for a big screen watch in today’s enviornment.