What can possibly go wrong with a selfie?
A lot, especially if it is taken of a young woman and without her knowledge.
Umesh (Nivin Pauly), an engineering student with a lot of arrears (pending examination papers that have not been cleared) realises that a bit too late. The young woman here is Daisy (Manjima Mohan), his new neighbour who is not interested in his advances.
The first half of Oru Vadakkan Selfie, does not take itself seriously. Just like the characters, the young men (rather, boys who have still not grown up and still have a college hangover), it meanders aimlessly. Slapstick comedy rules, and after a while you can’t help wonder what the joke is all about.
The story picks up steam and takes on a serious note in the second half when Umesh must prove his innocence as far as Daisy’s disappearance is concerned. She is believed to have eloped with her lover.
What happens to Daisy? Who is her lover? Umesh wants to know. Helping him in tracking Daisy is his close buddy, Shaji (Aju Verghese) and Jack Tracker (Vineeth Sreenivasan), a private detective from Chennai, whom they hire.
Directed by newcomer G. Prajith and based on Vineeth Sreenivasan’s script, Oru Vadakkan Selfie, could have been made into a better film. The humour is loud and in-your-face. Aju Verghese’s talents have not been well exploited here. Verghese has delivered better hits and you can’t help remembering his Peruchazhi, and the last Biju Menon film, Vellimoonga. Shaji’s character has been poorly sketched.
Sreenivasan sends home a message on how vulnerable young women are, owing to the anonymity of the internet. There is some melodrama in the second half, when Umesh and company land in Madurai in search of Daisy’s lover.
I can’t fathom how the young men, without a penny on them, manage to survive on this journey and that too in a car. So long as you don’t ask questions and if you are not looking for something serious, you could check out Oru Vadakkan Selfie; an evening peppered with laughs and you don’t take home any of the characters to dwell upon.
