The trend of Akshay Kumar delivering underwhelming projects is continuing. In 2022, Akshay Kumar was featured in 4 movies, and every single one was average. Selfiee looked like a movie that could have changed that.
The trailer promised Akshay Kumar would return to his prime avatar, and the movie looked promising. But there was no hype around the film, even after all the marketing the stars had done.
And with the announcement of Hera Pheri 3, the remaining hype also died down. Resulting in one of the lowest bookings starring Akshay Kumar in recent years. And it is not a shock.
But let’s look at the movie from the creative sense and judge how the film is made. And whether it is worth it to go to theaters or not.
Selfiee Review: Plot
Selfiee is a remake of the Malayalam movie Driving Licence that came out in 2019. The movie focuses on a larger-than-life artist Vijay Kumar, who needs a driving license to shoot his film.
One of his biggest fans, Om Prakash Agarwal, a motor vehicle inspector, agrees to deliver the license. He just asked his superior for a selfie with the star. And a simple miscommunication resulted in an Ego battle that forms the main crux of the movie.
Selfee Review: Positives
Self-Aware Nature Of Comedy
The best and most entertaining part about Selfiee is its self-aware humor. Akshay Kumar himself cracks so many jokes around his stereotypes. That was visible only in the trailer, but the movie takes it up a notch further.
The movie also makes a social commentary about the Bollywood industry and needs to catch up in cracking jokes. The jokes were crisp and will make you laugh.
Clever Screenplay (First Half)
We will talk about the second half very soon. But the first half of the movie will pass as a breeze. You won’t even realize you have watched an hour’s movie. And that is saying something.
The social commentary on Bollywood and the rivalries inside is presented to us so wittingly. You won’t get bored even for a single second.
Main Cast Performances
The main cast of the movie was in complete form for this venture. Akshay Kumar, in his old avatar making fun of his gummy smile, Akshay Kumar will make you laugh. Emraan Hashmi also does a commendable job.
Meghna Malik as Vimla Tiwari was outstanding and will make you laugh. Diana Penty and Nusrat Bharuccha did well with whatever they were given. But the real star was Abhimanyu Singh, who took me by surprise.
Selfiee Review: Underwhelming Aspects
Music
Not a single song in this movie was made because of the screenplay. Every single song was for a promotional basis, and they all somehow sucked. Except for ‘Kudiye Ni Teri’ because it had Mrunal Thakur in it, she can do no bad.
‘Kudi Chemkeeli’ featured out-of-form Honey Singh, lazy lyrics, and disinterested Diana Penty. The title Song was also underwhelming, and ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anari’ served as nostalgia and nothing else.
Side Cast
While the main cast was solid and was in complete control, almost every side artist was overacting entirely and needed to be more robust. The fact that they had nothing to offer per the script could also have been a factor.
Exhausting Second Half
What made the first half so good made the second half such a tedious task. All the points raised in the first half never made it to the second half, and it only became a fan vs. artist.
That was the main crux of the movie, but it became monotonous. It was also a criticism that the original film received, and Selfiee does nothing to improve that, which is sad.
Selfiee Review: Is It Worth It?
Selfiee is good in parts. It is enjoyable as a comedy in the first half but feels tedious in the second half. If you have yet to watch the original, you can opt for it, but it does not improve it.
The movie is enjoyable, but it is nothing to write home about. You can still go and watch it and have a good time. But if you decide to ignore it, you won’t miss anything.
