CTRL is gripping and is sure to become a talking point

CTRL Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane

CTRL Movie Review Synopsis:
CTRL is the story of a woman who falls into a dangerous, digital trap. Nalini aka Nella Awasthi (Ananya Panday), originally based in Delhi, lives in Mumbai with her boyfriend Joe Mascarenhas (Vihaan Samat). They have a social media channel called NJOY where they put up funny and cute videos and sketches. Their following is huge. Nella, however, gets consumed by their online avatar and is obsessed with increasing engagement and likes for their content. Joe feels neglected. He’s a part of a public interest tech group where he meets Shonali (Kamakshi Bhat). On Joe’s birthday, Nella goes live and decides to surprise him by landing up at Joe’s party with his tech buddies. She gets the shock of her life when she sees Joe kissing Shonali. An angry Nella breaks up with Joe. Since the live recording captured the moments of Joe kissing and Nella hitting Shonali, she goes viral for the wrong reasons and also gets trolled massively. While going through the comments, she comes across a suggestion – she should download an app named ‘Ctrl’ and delete Joe from her digital past. A depressed Nella downloads it and creates an AI avatar named Allen (voiced by Aparshakti Khurana), which is simply her name spelt backwards. Nella forms a bond with Allen as the latter begins to cleanly remove Joe from her pictures and videos. But unknown to Nella, the brains behind the ‘Ctrl’ app have ulterior motives. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

CTRL Movie Story Review:
Avinash Sampath’s story is novel and the need of the hour. Avinash Sampath and Vikramaditya Motwane’s screenplay is imaginative. It is unlike any other Hindi film script due to the technical aspect and yet, it is simple and easy to understand. Sumukhi Suresh’s dialogues are witty and add to the humour and drama.

Vikramaditya Motwane’s direction is terrific. This is a screenlife movie along the lines of memorable flicks like UNFRIENDED [2014], SEARCHING [2018], etc. (Timur Bekmambetov, who pioneered these films is also the executive producer of CTRL). It is always a risk to pull off a film like this as one also needs to make sure that the digital graphics look slick and at the same time, it should be convincing that a character is using a device for a reason and not for the heck of it to fulfil the idea of a ‘screen film’. On both fronts, Vikramaditya succeeds. Technically, the film is great. The shots of Joe getting deleted slowly from Nella’s pictures are executed dramatically. The AI character of Allen looks harmless and also dangerous at the same time. Meanwhile, Vikramaditya also has a great story to tell and he does it with panache. It’s very real as we have all been consumed by the drama in the lives of content creators. The break-up track is hilarious and the film goes in a different zone once Nella lets Allen take control. A lot happens in the second half and that will astonish the audience.

On the flipside, the way Nella gets trapped is convincing but its consequences are not. The deepfake angle does get noticed but why it doesn’t become a big issue by internet activists is not easy to digest. The finale adds a nice touch but at the same time, it is not as impactful. The makers never care to explain how Nella’s family and relatives react to her fiasco in the last act.

CTRL Movie Review Performances:
Ananya Panday delivers a fine performance. She gets into the skin of the character and looks every inch like an influencer whose life is consumed by social media. She also does well in some of the challenging scenes. Vihaan Samat has limited screen time but makes up for it with his able performance. Devika Vatsa (Bina) is a great find while Kamakshi Bhat is decent. Ravish Desai (Aryan K) and Suchiita Niigam Patel (Nella’s mother) leave a mark in cameos. Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi, Aaditya Kulshreshth, Nishant Tanwar and Vishal Dayama play themselves and add to the realism. Finally, Aparshakti Khurana is too good as the voice of Allen.

CTRL movie music and other technical aspects:
Sneha Khanwalkar’s music is modern. ‘Ulfat’ stands out as it’s very catchy. ‘B(h)adass’ is well picturized but ‘Ainwayi Yunhi’is okay. ‘Mera Boyfriend’ by Yashraj Mukhate is very hilarious. Sneha Khanwalkar’s background score is in sync with the film’s mood.

Pratik Shah’s cinematography is praiseworthy, despite the challenges. Yashika Gor’s production design and Shruti Kapoor’s costumes are straight out of life. Philm CGI’s VFX matches global standards. Jahaan Noble’s editing is slick.

CTRL Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, CTRL, the first screenlife film of Bollywood, is gripping and will also make viewers question their dependency on their devices. It is sure to become a talking point and thereby also amass considerable viewership.