Movie Review
At this point, it’s safe to say that the majority of viewers are done with remakes. It’s not just some super hit regional films but Bollywood is now buying the rights of foreign language films as well. Most of the time the attempt is futile because rarely do remakes live up to the original.
Last week, Karthik Aaryan hit the screens with Shahzada, a remake of Allu Arjun Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and the disappointment was as big as the hype created by the film. Now, Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi have teamed up for the remake of the Malayalam film Driving License. Titled Selfie, it actually managed to capture the essence of the original and can be called a “good remake”.
Much of the credit goes to Raj Mehta, who actually managed to take the original and mold it perfectly to suit the sensibilities of Indian film audiences. What’s even better is that the director who collaborated with Akshay in Good Newwz was able to tap into his comic timing and Vijay Kumar was able to overshadow how Akshay Kumar is. So you get to see a character that fans like Khiladi Kumar and who isn’t afraid to pick a few pockets for himself. So you have his wife, played by Diana Penty, taunting the star with his “smiling governor smile” and you can’t help but laugh and admire Kumar’s ability to poke fun at himself at the same time.
What makes the film even better is that he has an equally good opponent in Emraan Hashmi. Hashmi turns spontaneous as Om Agarwal, a Road Traffic Department cop who urgently needs to get Kumar’s license. As he is a big fan, he asks to take a selfie with the star in the office. Sensing that Agarwal is a true fan, the superstar goes on a date with him. But as the media shows up and everything gets blown out of proportion, things go terribly wrong. The result is that the two argue with each other. But who will win this clash?
The film takes several turns. Is this the story of an ordinary man trying to avenge an attack on his family? Is it about abuse of power? Is it about how politics and media play and sensationalize simple things? Is it because of the fallibility of human behavior that magnifies things that can be easily solved? Is it a clash of egos? Well, it all comes together. The makers carefully add comic relief throughout the film. Especially the scenes involving Akshay Kumar and his interaction with Meghna Malik are genuine laugh out loud. Abhimanyu Singh also adds the perfect tadka to the mix.
Female leads don’t have much to do. We have Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty. First, Diana’s character is shown to be stronger as she is independent, while she is shown as the most stereotypical housewife, exaggerating her husband’s achievements.
The mob sequence is one that I feel could have been handled better. Without giving too much away, it’s a sequence where a strong message can be conveyed about not losing your mind while being a fan. Was it muted to appease the fans? we don’t know. But the scene definitely could have been written better.
The editing is sharp. The background score is spot on and the movie is enjoyable. The fact that Selfie takes the good parts of Driving License and gives it its own twist makes this remake a good watch as well. If you’re looking for a fun watch this weekend, you’ve got it!