2 hours ago
2
Girish AD's I Am Kathalan, starring Naslen K Gafoor successful the pb role, is present moving successful theatres. (Image: Girish/Instagram)
I Am Kathalan movie review: As Vishnu (Naslen K Gafoor) hacked into the Royal Periyadan Finance’s server from his idiosyncratic computer, I scanned each country of his CRT monitor, half-expecting the connection “hacking…” to popular up — an all-too-common trope successful specified scenes. However, successful his techno-thriller I Am Kathalan, manager Girish AD has steered wide of specified clichés, and, judge me, that’s, unfortunately, a uncommon feat. Keep successful caput that it hasn’t been excessively galore years since manager Joshiy, depicted successful his movie Salaam Kashmier (2014), the Indian military’s cyber quality helping commanding serviceman Major Sreekumar (Jayaram) introducing Lt Colonel Tomy Eepan Devasy (Suresh Gopi) to “this latest technology” utilized by terrorists to pass among themselves, called “Facebook.” Given that immoderate filmmakers are that naïve astir their surroundings and the evolving scenarios astir them, what Girish has done present is nary tiny achievement.
With respective papers backlogged successful college, Vishnu is uncertain astir his aboriginal — and he’s not excessively acrophobic either. His main (and astir apt only) interest is that, without a job, helium risks losing his woman Shilpa (Anishma Anilkumar) who is acceptable to articulation her begetter Chacko (Dileesh Pothan) astatine Royal Periyadan Finance, heading its IT helping and advancement successful life. Upon completion of college, Shilpa realises that Vishnu isn’t putting successful the indispensable effort to unafraid his future. She begins to uncertainty their relationship, particularly arsenic helium starts pushing for marriage, which makes her wonderment if helium is lone funny successful her family’s wealthiness and the speedy fiscal summation matrimony mightiness bring him. As she grows distant, Vishnu suspects she’s seeing idiosyncratic other and hacks into Instagram to corroborate his suspicions. When she finds out, she breaks up with him. In an effort to triumph her back, Vishnu visits her workplace, wherever Chacko confronts and adjacent slaps him, informing him to enactment away. ‘Humiliated,’ Vishnu decides to get revenge, utilizing his astir potent skill: hacking. Under the pseudonym Kathalan (inspired by manager S Shankar’s 1994 Tamil romanticist thriller Kadhalan, which present is the sanction of the autorickshaw owned by Vishnu’s friend), helium infiltrates the company’s server and tampers with their lawsuit data, causing important disruptions wrong the firm. Despite their attempts to amended security, Kathalan consistently breaches their defences, pushing the Periyadans to prosecute Simi (Lijomol Jose), an ethical hacker, to way him down. As Vishnu and Simi clash successful the virtual realm, the movie shifts into precocious gear, pursuing the Periyadans and Simi’s efforts to find Kathalan — and his efforts to evade capture.
Originally intended arsenic Naslen’s debut arsenic a lead, I Am Kathalan’s accumulation was completed successful 2022, good earlier his blockbuster Premalu (2024), besides directed by Girish, and adjacent anterior to Journey of Love 18+ (2023). Though released astir 2 years aft it was made, I Am Kathalan carries a consciousness of freshness, acknowledgment to the mode Girish and writer Sajin Cherukayil crafted its world, keeping it intimate and relatable. Unlike galore techno-thrillers that trust heavy connected eerie music, shadowy rooms and horror-like elements, I Am Kathalan approaches the genre differently, providing it a melodramatic interaction without pushing the thriller facet excessively far, allowing viewers to acquisition hostility without overwhelming them. “Your assurance scares me,” remarks Aneesh (Vineeth Vishwam) to Vishnu, and the film’s squad successfully instils a akin feeling successful the assemblage throughout, keeping them wondering erstwhile Vishnu mightiness beryllium caught. Sidhartha Pradeep’s inheritance people enhances cardinal moments, heightening suspense oregon staying subtle arsenic needed.
“On the Internet, cipher knows you’re a dog,” I Am Kathalan begins showing this celebrated adage — primitively the caption to a cartoon successful a 1993 contented of The New Yorker mag — and the movie explores this thought arsenic well. In the virtual world, wherever carnal attributes and different characteristics tin beryllium masked by choice, individuality becomes arbitrary and this fluidity tin service some affirmative and antagonistic ends, arsenic shown done the characters of Simi and Vishnu, respectively. Online, adjacent real-world underdogs tin reinvent themselves and emergence supra those with real-life affluents. “Throughout my life, I person lone faced mockery and ridicule. This is my archetypal enactment of retaliation,” says Vishnu; and meanwhile, we spot Chacko, who had erstwhile slapped and thrown Vishnu retired portion bragging astir his influence, present declaring that the hacker is simply a “crooked criminal,” underscoring however cyberspace has upended their powerfulness dynamic.
Watch I Am Kathalan trailer here:
Although Girish’s determination to support I Am Kathalan nether 120 minutes is commendable — immoderate longer mightiness person made it consciousness dragged retired — the movie inactive struggles to support viewers afloat engaged owed to the deficiency of extent successful Sajin’s script. In opposition to Girish’s erstwhile films — Thanneer Mathan Dinangal (2019), Super Sharanya (2022) and Premalu, each written by him — which stood retired for their memorable, well-rounded moments and beardown characterisations that gave the narratives rhythm, Kathalan lacks these qualities and adjacent its pb character, Vishnu, feels inconsistently developed. One of Kathalan’s large issues is its romanticising of a protagonist who uses unethical hacking for idiosyncratic vengeance, attacking a concern steadfast successful a mode that could jeopardise the lives of countless depositors. As a boyfriend, helium is nary little than a walking reddish emblem who not lone infiltrates his girlfriend’s societal media but can’t besides judge rejection and attempts to represent her arsenic a villain for “dumping” him, contempt being acold from acceptable for a committed relationship. However, the underdeveloped quality of Shilpa’s quality prevents viewers from sympathising with her, leaving them to wonderment what she saw successful him successful the archetypal place. Anishma’s performance, nonetheless, compensates for this to immoderate extent.
Though Kathalan deserves praise for casting a pistillate (the superb Lijomol) arsenic an ethical hacker, successful contradiction to the industry’s communal practices wherein specified roles are reserved for men, Sajin’s penning falls abbreviated present too, arsenic her quality fails to germinate meaningfully. Simi reveals lone constricted insights into the hacker’s activities eventually, frankincense the publication reduces her to a “talks large but acts little” benignant of character. Dileesh Pothan, meanwhile, shines arsenic Chacko Periyadan, bringing humour and substance to an different uneven film. Actor Zhinz Shan, playing the relation of Vishnu’s father, besides impresses. While Vineeth Vasudevan’s quality Mathew Thomas, an worker astatine Chacko’s office, and Sajin’s Praveen Kumar, an IT expert, could person added much depth, they extremity up offering lone sporadic humour.
Originally intended arsenic Naslen’s debut arsenic a lead, I Am Kathalan’s accumulation was completed successful 2022. (Image: Girish/Instagram)
Naslen, however, delivers an awesome and commanding show arsenic Vishnu, capturing his character’s layers with large precision. What makes his portrayal adjacent much awesome is knowing that his travel to Premalu had been 1 of continuous refinement, reflecting his maturation arsenic an actor. Had I Am Kathalan been released soon aft completion and marked his debut arsenic a lead, it could person boosted further Naslen’s illustration arsenic a young histrion susceptible of handling deeper roles, beyond characters that are fundamentally quirky, unemployed youths. Though Vishnu bears immoderate resemblance to Sachin from Premalu, the scope of emotions helium navigates present is overmuch broader and Naslen does a commendable occupation of bringing them to life.
Sharan Velayudhan’s cinematography is commendable overall, though each the exterior shots of the Periyadan bureau consciousness overly cartoonish and strangely coloured, apt owed to an over-reliance connected ocular effects. Akash Joseph Varghese’s editing efficaciously maintains a dependable gait passim the film. While Sidhartha Pradeep’s inheritance people adds support, keeping the movie afloat, his songs autumn abbreviated and deficiency memorability.
I Am Kathalan movie cast: Naslen K Gafoor, Anishma Anilkumar, Lijomol Jose, Dileesh Pothan
I Am Kathalan movie director: Girish AD
I Am Kathalan movie rating: 2.5 stars
.png "indianexpress.")
.png "khaleejtimes")
.png "arabnews")
.png "gulfnews"){kind=logo}
English (US) · 
Hindi (IN) ·