CTRL Movie Review: Ananya Panday is excellent in a film on deepfake and dangers of digital world
Poster of CTRL
CTRL Movie Review:Vikramaditya Motwane's CTRL is an eye-opening watch. How? Read on to find it.
It's a digital age, and we are all loving it. Forget hours, everything is available in minutes and sometimes seconds, making our lives easier and more leisurely. We have become dependent on this technology-driven life, which is what you would expect in the 24th year of the 21st century.
In the past two years, we have seen rapid developments in AI, which has been around for a long time but gained massive momentum recently, as AI has trickled into everything from our phone screens to our cars and even our washing machines. While we are enjoying our lives with AI bots, have you ever wondered what's the price that we are paying for all of these? What is the potential terror it can cause to our lives? Motwane's film starring Ananya Panday addresses all these concerns in his movie; exploring the impact of social media, AI and how privacy will only be the word that we will use in the discussions in the coming time.
What CTRLis all about?
Starring Ananya Panday in a lead role, the almost two-hour movie highlights the horrific impact of this technology-driven social media age, where we all are unknowingly being controlled.
The movie follows the life of a young couple, Nella Awasthi and Joe Mascarenhas, who are popular social media influencers, known as NJoy. Nella and Joe's entire world is on social media. They are the #couplegoals for millions of their followers – until one day when Nella finds Joe kissing someone else, which was streamed live on their social media handle. This leads to their breakup, leaving Nella alone to navigate her life in her social world.
While figuring out how to manage her social media presence, Nella takes help from an AI app that not only erases Joe from her entire life but also helps her grow her channel.
With millions of followers, Nella finds herself relying on an AI companion, Allen, who is managing every aspect of her life. While Nella enjoys her success and living her dream life with crores in her bank account, her ex-Joe goes missing and the story takes a drastic turn. How Nella's life turns into a nightmare with a reality check forms the crux of the plot.
CTRLis an impactful watch
Directed by Motwane and co-written by him and Avinash Sampath, the film serves as a poignant commentary on the lives of youngsters, the vulnerable situations that they are in and how their whole lives revolve all around social media, trends, comments and collaborations.
Motwane and Avinash have done a commendable job in the writing, addressing the adverse effects of social media, data breaching and AI deep fakes in the easiest and most relatable manner.
The movie is sharp and keeps you engaged throughout with its suspenseful storyline. While we have had a lot of movies and shows on similar themes,I enjoyed CTRL due to the presentation, concise and crisp storyline and effective editing.
The climax addresses the dangerous effects of deepfakes in a few minutes, reminding us of the impact that they can have on our lives.
If we talk about the performance, this film is a badge of honour for Ananya Panday. After falling for her innocence in her previous show Call Me Bae, I loved her as a vulnerable and ambitious Nella. Being a Gen-Z star, she effectively embodies the character of this era well. Vihaan Samat as Joe, who may not have much screen time, has played his part in the best way.
What is shown in the movie reflects the current reality and the cost millions of people are paying for it. It tells us how dark the future of this seemingly bright and charming world is, where reality may not exist.
CTRL is truly a thought-provoking watch.
