Selfiee Review: Superfan vs Superstar Clash Is Plenty Of Fuss And No Real Fun

As we can see from the trailer, Emraan plays the faithful fan who idolises Akshay, who plays the present decade's biggest star in Hindi cinema.

New Delhi: The new Bollywood film 'Selfiee', starring Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi, continues the tradition of remaking South Indian cinema. The multi-starrer comedy-drama stays in the comfort place of being a mixed bag of some humour, some emotion, and a little action. Like any other 'hero ki entry' in a movie, Akshay Kumar as the Khiladi of Bollywood bursts onto the scene in his peculiar way amidst howling wind and pulling a few punches. Both onscreen and in the actual theatre, which is crammed with film critics, the entire audience cheers for him. That's probably how you can tell if one adores Hindi movies—no matter how much we whine about the films' intellectual shortcomings, we will likely applaud its typical Bollywood drama.

The movie directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Dharma Productions, Magic Frames, Prithviraj Productions, Cape of Good Films, and Star Studios is simply another Malayalam remake. The Akshay Kumar starrer is the Hindi version of the 2019 release 'Driving Licence'. The lead actors in the original movie were Prithviraj and Suraj Venjaramoodu. As we can see from the trailer, Emraan plays the faithful fan who idolises Akshay, who plays the present decade's biggest star in Hindi cinema.

The movie, which is set in the backdrop of Bhopal, opens with the introduction of RTO Inspector Om Prakash Aggarwal (Emraan Hashmi), who is such a dedicated admirer of Vijay Kumar (Akshay Kumar) that he threatens his wife with divorce if she belittles the latter. His son, who has followed in his father's footsteps by lionising the superstar, is his partner in crime. They are thrilled to find that the actor will film in their city, just like any other fan would be. Om has a chance to perhaps meet Vijay in person and fulfil his dream of taking a selfie with him owing to destiny's hand in bringing the fan and his idol together.

But, an ordinary visit to the RTO office to get his licence turns into a media circus as reporters chase the actor outside and this becomes national news. Vijay Kumar, who is concerned about a personal matter, lashes out at Om and alleges that he is trying to get 'two minutes of fame' at the expense of the actor. The chuckling of the journalists in attendance at the movie attests to the fact that everything you read is very plausible in today's world of click bait news. Yet, most people would agree that the movie overplays the fan's feelings for the movie star. Being a well-behaved admirer, Emaraan's character sends texts to Vijay appreciating his performance in movies. His admiration for the actor is well-expressed in writing, although the scene where he asks for a chance to see him feels a little overdramatized. Om is still downplayed in comparison to Shah Rukh Khan's character in 'Fan', which shows the sheer obsessiveness over an actor is entirely possible.

While Om tries to do all in his power to exact payback for the humiliation, this incident serves as a catalyst for the tension between the superstar and his superfan. A media witch-hunt and social media boycott requests are what ensues. Although Bollywood has featured films about fans and their idols before, this one particularly captures the atmosphere right now. The movie makes fun of us for having such petty tastes in entertainment, from showing news anchors thumping desks and calling out Bollywood actors to the hashtag culture on social media that calls for a boycott at any time. The movie also employs self-deprecating humour to expose the superficiality of the film business at times.

Speaking of performances, Akshay Kumar portrays the stereotypical hero in the movie, which isn't all that different from what we've seen in his other flicks. The effortlessness of his comedy, though, is something that defines him from other performers, and we see a few glimpses of that. Emraan Hashmi, meantime, makes a comeback on screen with a role that seems very distinct from his previous ones. Despite his best efforts, the actor who portrays the suave hero onscreen is unable to shed his persona and truly blend in with the crowd.

Contrarily, Meghna Malik portrays a servile local official whose fixation with media attention is the cause of all the commotion. Without a question, she excels in her role as a supporting cast. Diana Penty, who portrays Vijay's wife, and Nushrratt Bharuccha, who plays Om Prakash's wife, are also in the cast, albeit due to their limited screen time, they really didn't have much to add to the narrative.

'Selfiee' is nevertheless watchable among the recent Bollywood offerings, despite the fact that it struggles to engage its audience due to the absence of irony in comparison to the original film. People who can particularly watch this comedy drama are die-hard Akshay fans, folks who haven't seen the Malayalam movie and those who don't have any (better) plans for this weekend.