Selfie Tamil Movie
In the past there have been numerous films on education and the system that drives it. Kamal's 90s college caper, 'Nammavar' for instance stood tall and exposed the inherent weakness in the pedagogy. More recently, movies like 'Appa' and 'Sattai' from Samuthirakani's stable had some preachy narratives and attempted to push the education debate to the fore.
'Selfie' is another such narrative that is a thriller and is based on the corruption in the college management admission process. Trailer of 'Selfie' promised a smartly packaged action thriller with G.V.Prakash and Gautham Menon drawing daggers against each other. Directed by debutant Mathi Maran, 'Selfie' exposes the pathetic state of the college admission system, especially for professional courses like Engineering and Medicine.
Kanal (GV Prakash), reluctantly leaves his hometown to pursue an engineering degree at a private college in Chennai because of the coercion from his father. Having found that he has been swindled a lump sum for a seat that he could have got for free makes him want to get into the trade.
When he finally looks to strike gold with his friends he finds himself engulfed in a huge mess. He fights with his opponents and soon realises that they are too big to wage a battle. He pays a heavy price for his ordeal in order to set things right.
The first half had its share of moments with the character introductions and some smartly written scenes. We are given a glimpse into the ugly face of college admissions. It was disheartening to watch how aspiring parents get royally screwed while trying desperately to fulfil their dreams through their kids.
After the first half, the movie dwindles down in pace and becomes very predictable. The smart moves in the first half were missing the latter one. The narrative was flat and lifeless. That too when the movie reaches its climax, it becomes accelerated and finishes off unconventionally without much blood or gore.
GV Prakash dons himself in a young and angry role that does justice for his image. Goutham Menon does his typical 'cool' swags. His action scene towards the end is a highlight. Varsha as GV's love interest was another run-of-the-mill selection.
The movie had numerous swear words that were muted. That kept the things on the boil and made the character look raw and real. The action sequences were another highlight. BGM by GVP was decent. The supporting characters were underwhelmingly written and so they come across as average.
Overall, the movie can be watched for its racy narrative in the first half and for trying to create awareness on a social issue that would potentially harm students and the society at large with such new wave crimes. However, at a little over two hours in length the movie could have been much better with focused writing and nuanced character arcs. The movie falls well short of that now!
MOVIE REVIEWS