Driving Licence (film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Driving Licence'' is a 2019 Indian
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
-language
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by Lal Jr, written by Sachy and produced by
Prithviraj Productions Prithviraj Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2017, by actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, and his wife, Supriya Menon. Since then, it has produced and distributed over 10 fil ...
and Magic Frames. It stars
Prithviraj Sukumaran Prithviraj Sukumaran (Help:IPA/Malayalam, /pr̩t̪ʰʋiɾaːd͡ʒ/; born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, producer, director, and playback singer who primarily works in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Bollywood, Hin ...
and
Suraj Venjaramood Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage pla ...
. The story follows film actor Hareendran who wants a driving licence urgently and his ardent fan, Motor Vehicle Inspector Kuruvila Joseph, agrees on delivering it illegally, but their rendezvous does not go well, on the contrary, a feud develops between them that takes a toll on each other's personal and professional lives. ''Driving Licence'' was released in India on 20 December 2019 and internationally from 25 December 2019. The film met with a positive response from critics and was a commercial success at the box office. The film was subsequently remade in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
as '' Selfiee'' starring
Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
and
Emraan Hashmi Syed Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian film actor, who appears in Hindi films. Initially known for performing bold scenes, Hashmi has since portrayed strong roles in films. One of the most unconventional actors of India, H ...
in lead roles.


Plot

Kuruvilla Joseph, a Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI) at
Kakkanad Kakkanad is a region in Kochi, Kerala, located east of the city centre. The term is used to refer to an area covering Thrikkakara municipality and the built-up areas in the western parts of the adjoining Kunnathunad grama panchayat. Kakkanad i ...
RTO is a passionate fan of Malayalam film actor Hareendran. Hareendran is preparing to leave for the United States for his wife's diagnosis, delaying the filming of his film, ''The Great Dictator,'' which already incurred a budget overrun. With the climax still remaining to be shot at an
Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
leased land, the crew learns that Hareendran's driving licence, that needs to be submitted to get clearance, is missing. The producer is outraged as the film has to be wrapped as soon as possible. Due to a clerical error while shifting between RTO buildings, Hareendran cannot apply for a duplicate licence as issuing a new licence would take time. Hence, Hareendran's politician friend Peringodan meets Kuruvila to speed up the procedure. Kuruvila agrees to issue licence illicitly without Hareendran even attending the test. In return, he summons Hareendran to the RTO to meet him in person and as proof in case of an inquiry. Meanwhile, Hareendran's professional rival Bhadran is plotting to suppress competition from Hareendran by means of deceit. Even though he realises going to the RTO might give away clues for his visit, Hareendran hesitatingly agrees, hoping that an unadvertised visit calls for less visibility. On his arrival, he sees TV channels surrounding the premises, amidst, a peon gives a misinformation to a reporter that Hareendran, an avid driver, has been driving without a licence. The news spreads, and an infuriated Hareendran scolds Kuruvila in front of his son and superiors for the leak and leaves. Angered, Kuruvila informs reporters that Hareendran was arrogant and wanted a licence without going through the normal procedures. Hareendran's reputation has been severely damaged and to worsen the situation, Bhadran's fans community head, Saheer, organises a
hit-and-run attack Hit-and-run tactics are a tactical doctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not to decisively defeat the en ...
on Kuruvila. At midnight, a masked gang cast stones at his house and Kuruvila's son suffers a head injury. Kuruvila believes it is Hareendran's men. Meanwhile, Hareendran reluctantly cancels his US trip on the producer's insistence. While rushing his son to the hospital, a frustrated Hareendran calls Kuruvila by phone and threatens him, which affirms Kuruvila's suspicions. On police inquiry, Kuruvila and wife accuses Hareendran, but Hareendran is not charged as his involvement was inconclusive. Protesting it, Kuruvila and family perform
Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...
in front of Hareendran's residence, where media and fans also assemble. Amidst, a drunkard named Agasthi is trying to meet Hareendran but is denied entrance. Addressing media, Hareendran states that Kuruvila is a crazy fan and a kind of stalker who finds gratification by being a part in his idol's life through disruption. He shows Kuruvila's fan messages as evidence and announces that he has decided to attend the test in the supervision of Kuruvila. Hareendran gets permission for an open test, which can be viewed by media and can be telecast live, the computer-based test is replaced with a direct question-answer session with Kuruvila. Kuruvila asks difficult and unusual questions, still Hareendran manages to pass the learner's test. Kuruvila's son is bullied by Hareendran's fan-boys in school. With that, Kuruvila decides not to send him school until Hareendran has failed and is determined to fail him using maximum discretion. Meanwhile, Hareendran's wife requires a surgery, and a flight is charted to reach there as soon as the test is completed. On the practical assessment day, Hareendran smoothly completes the "H test", but Kuruvila fails him pointing petty mistakes. The Decision is overruled by his superior and passes Hareendran. Kuruvila makes Hareendran wait until noon for the follow-up "road test". At noon, he postpones the test by two days, which happens to be the day of Hareendran's wife's surgery. Hareendran announces to the onlooking fans and media that he is forfeiting driving forever because Kuruvila has totally misused his power and he will retire from acting if this disrupts his life further. Enraged fans begin
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
Kuruvila, Hareendran saves him and flees from the place. While en route, they clear the misunderstandings. Hareendran brings Kuruvila and his family to his house. Two days later, before leaving to the airport Hareendran interacts with the press about their reconciliation. A drunken Agasthi interferes and deliver him a laminated copy of his lost licence and said he has been trying to reach him since the beginning. To the crowd, Hareendran says: "I can drive now, right ? Received my driving licence". He then drives off in his car.


Cast


Production

The film was launched on 11 July 2019 and
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in the following week.


Soundtrack

The music and original score are composed by Yakzan Gary Pereira, and
Neha Nair Neha Nair is an Indian playback singer and composer. Her debut was a duet with Job Kurian in the film '' Ritu'', with music composed by Rahul Raj. She is a guest singer in the Malayalam rock band Avial. Personal life She currently resides i ...
with lyrics written by Santhosh Varma, and Sam Matthew. There is title song and main track sung by
Anthony Daasan Anthony Daasan is an Indian folk singer currently working in the Tamil film industry. He is known for contributing a powerful voice to fusions of Tamil folk, country, jazz, electronica and rock styles. Before this phase of playback singing, he ...
, Sangeeth, and Neha Nair.


Release


Theatrical

''Driving License'' was released in India on 20 December 2019 and internationally from 25 December 2019, debuting in the
Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...
.


Home Media

The film had a digital release through
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
. It is also available in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
dubbed version currently streaming on Ultra Play app.


Reception


Critical reception

Rating 4 in a scale of 5, ''
The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...
'' praised writer Sachy, stating that he "proves once again why he is one of the best screenwriters in Malayalam cinema at the moment. His writing carries the sort of colour and flavour last seen in the early
Priyadarshan Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...
,
Sreenivasan Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such a ...
, and Siddique-Lal films" and that "the purpose of any good cinema is to not just entertain but also deliver a wholesome community experience, which is exactly what ''Driving Licence'' does", and also praised the actors' performances. Anna M. M. Vetticad from ''
Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
'' rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and said "Prithviraj is terrific in a captivating drama on pride and pettiness, fandom and fury", and "each time you think you have cracked ''Driving Licence'', it takes a surprising turn. This screenplay is one of the cleverest pieces of writing to emerge from
Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
in what is already a great year for Mollywood" and praised the direction, editing and actors' performance. ''
Malayala Manorama '' Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a rea ...
'' rated 3.5 out of 5 and stated that "The plot, which gains incredible momentum from a small thread, is actually the hero of the movie. The screenwriter and the director have been able to present it amazingly without making the audience bored" and praised the acting of Prithviraj and Suraj. Rating 3 out of 5 stars,
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
dubbed it "entertaining" and "a fine journey that keeps the viewer engaged all along", also adding: "with a tight script that has humour, emotions and drama, Sachy scores well. Lal Jr. packages the movie in an entertaining way. The visuals and the music are good" and praised Prithviraj for his "top notch performance" and Suraj for his "terrific form". ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' rated 3 out of 5 and called it "an engaging watch" and that the "director Lal Jr and his writer Sachy have conceived a solid premise that makes this meta-film an engrossing watch". Rating 3 out of 5, ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' wrote that the film "has all the necessary elements to keep you glued to it. Mostly, it is a kick-back-your-shoes-and-enjoy fun ride". ''
The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Vignesh Vellore who is also the current CEO in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, ...
'' also rated 3 out of 5 and wrote: "In an interesting plot that falters at places, especially in the characterisation of women, you catch present-day realities and the dangers of a star-fan relationship" and "Prithviraj and Suraj play the star-fan roles admirably well".


Box office

The film collected $358,424 in the opening weekend in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
and $489,429 in two weeks.


Remake

Dharma Productions Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Johar. Based in Mumbai, it mainly produces and distributes H ...
and Cape of Good Films bought the remake rights for the film in January 2022. Directed by Raj Mehta,
Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
and
Emraan Hashmi Syed Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian film actor, who appears in Hindi films. Initially known for performing bold scenes, Hashmi has since portrayed strong roles in films. One of the most unconventional actors of India, H ...
reprise the roles played by
Prithviraj Sukumaran Prithviraj Sukumaran (Help:IPA/Malayalam, /pr̩t̪ʰʋiɾaːd͡ʒ/; born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, producer, director, and playback singer who primarily works in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Bollywood, Hin ...
and
Suraj Venjaramoodu Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage plays. He has acted in more than ...
. '' Selfiee'' was announced in January 2022.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
commenced in March in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
and finished in August. The film was released on 24 February 2023.


References


External links

* *
Driving Licence (Hindi)
' at Ultra Play {{Sachy 2010s Malayalam-language films Films about actors Fiction about rivalry Films about feuds Indian comedy-drama films Indian thriller films Malayalam films remade in other languages Films scored by Neha Nair Films scored by Yakzan Gary Pereira