Oru Vadakkan Selfie Malayalam Movie
Prajith's directorial debut 'Oru Vadakkan Selfie' is a quiet little gem that has popped out of the basket this Friday, which is a buddy comedy that has a very special edge to it. A pretty good yarn that is consistently witty, 'Oru Vadakkan Selfie' fruitfully manages to let that smile linger on your lips for quite a while.
Umesh (Nivin Pauly) is back home, after an extremely unsuccessful stint at engineering studies, and has little hope of covering up the endless list of back papers. He starts looking around for an alternative career and decides that cinema is where he should be. Aided by his buddies Shaji (Aju Varghese) and Thankam (Neeraj Madhav), he starts shooting a short film that literally gets washed down to the sea.
The arrival of a beautiful new neighbour named Daisy (Manjima Mohan) spices up Umesh's otherwise dull life, but when she disappears without a trace, he is stunned when he is accused of having eloped with her. Left with no other options, Umesh and Shaji leave for Chennai, determined to find Daisy and set their shaken lives straight.
Peppered with light humour and sprinkled with smiles aplenty, the film talks of the predicament of hundreds of youngsters of the day, who have an opinion on everything, except their own lives. Confused to the core, and yet staunchly refusing to accept it, they indulge in the blame shifting process that is usually directed at the parents - who simply 'do not understand' - which is hilariously portrayed in the film.
The easy way out for Umesh from the mess that he has landed in, appears around the corner in the six letter wonder word - cinema. Looking for some quick fame and fortune, he is least worried by the sane words of his dad, or even that of his younger sister. It's no wonder then, that his aspirations get swept under a dust pile, as quickly as they had emerged, and six days of wandering around Chennai sends him scurrying back to Thalassery.
'Oru Vadakkan Selfie' is without doubt an entertainer, even though it does not ever break any new ground, when it comes to its storyline or script. The former half in particular keeps you occupied while the latter half takes an odd left turn in comparison and does appear listless at times.
When the film starts focussing on the love tale that Daisy has to tell, it is precisely this interest element that gets compromised on. Soon it assumes a different shape and shows signs of turning into a road movie, with the young men joining her in her mission to find an invisible online lover. A few messages are passed over silently as well, insisting that vulnerable women could be victims of online financial fraud.
Nivin Pauly is at his very best in the film, and there are a couple of occasions at least, when he turns out to be exceptionally impressive. First, there is the scene when he blows his top, while interacting with his more successful school mate (Bhagath Manuel) and later, inside the train, when he tries hard to make an impression on Daisy by assuming an all new romantic persona. Vineeth Sreenivasan in an extended cameo of sorts, throws the house into a frenzy, when he drawls 'Show me some money' or when he shouts an almost irresolute 'I'm fine' after being bashed up by Umesh.
A very special word of appreciation has to be handed over to Manjima Mohan, who establishes without doubt with her debut film, that she isn't just a pretty face. She plays Daisy to perfection, and sashays into Mollywood like a fragrant breeze. Aju Varghese and Neeraj Madhav lend ample support as well.
Prajith could be proud of having been able to gift us with a decent vacation watch this summer, and it's after all hard to complain much about being graciously entertained. However, it remains that with a bit of a judicious polishing here or there and with a slight tweaking of the script, Oru Vadakkan Selfie' could have been an even more striking snapshot than it already is.
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