BOTTOM LINE
Decent Cyber Thriller
PLATFORM
ZEE5
RUNTIME
109 minutes
What Is the Film About?
After distancing himself from his family and having just broken up with his girlfriend Smriti, Instagram influencer Pratyush lives alone in his apartment. He’s under pressure to reach the 10 million mark on the platform while competing with a rival. However, his plans go kaput one night when he loses his phone, only to realise that an obsessed female fan stole it.
Performances
Babil Khan may not be getting the opportunities he deserves, but he is definitely making his presence felt in the digital space with his consistency, representing realities that mainstream cinema often tends to ignore. Logout is no different and is a story apt for his age, driven by a strong screenplay and eliciting a good performance out of him.
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The only other actor who gets reasonable screen time is Rasika Dugal (which is interestingly labelled as a special appearance) – and she delivers when it matters, playing Pratyush’s on-screen sister with assurance. Both Gandharv Dewan and Nimisha Nair ‘perform’ more with their voices (than with their screen presence) and do their part in adding bite to the proceedings.
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Analysis
Films like Kho Gaye Hum Kahan and Ctrl have undoubtedly spawned a new genre on OTT, paving the way for stories that tap into our modern-day digital realities (although slightly exaggerated). It’s a rare space where the protagonists aren’t judged for their online lives, but instead are provided with a reality check, reminding them of a world beyond the screen they need to embrace.
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Upcoming actor Babil Khan’s latest release, Logout, directed by Amit Golani and written by Biswapati Sarkar, woven from the same cloth as the aforementioned films, is a cautionary cyber thriller that addresses urban loneliness, digital addiction without delivering a sermon. Only until an influencer Pratyush loses his phone, does he realise how south his life could go if he doesn’t get his priorities right; it’s a coming of age tale camouflaged as a thriller.
Pratyush has nearly 10 million followers, but his life is as empty as it can get. A digital marketer keeps reminding him about his social metrics daily. He only has Alexa to shout at. Despite his best efforts, he’s unable to get over his ex, Smriti. He half-heartedly manages to stay in touch with his sister and isn’t on good terms with his father, having cut ties with his home only recently.
Logout feels slightly exaggerated, to begin with. It goes too far to establish how Pratyush’s lifeline is his digital existence, exaggerating the shallowness of his social media persona and contrasting it with his real-life identity. It tries to paint a rather superficial picture of what it means to be a viral content creator and the pressure one experiences to stay relevant online.
While the foundation for the film is shaky, it finds its groove soon when Pratyush loses his phone. The plot gets going when he receives an anonymous mail from a fan about the phone that Pratyush just misplaced. In the process of recovering the phone, the fan, who disguises herself as Aabha, reveals her dark side, controlling her idol’s life, getting a share of her ‘chaar minute ki chandni.’
On a plot level, Logout deals with Pratyush’s efforts to trace the whereabouts of the obsessive fan, rediscovering himself in that pursuit. While trying to track her true identity, he realise that she and he lead eerily similar lives – away from their families, caught in a digital cocoon, minus social interaction. Realising that his fan may have taken an extreme route, Pratyush realises the need to pause.
Logout may deal with the digital side to the protagonist’s lives, but it, in more ways than one, feels like a closer cousin of Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan (only as a theme) – where a follower gets perilously obsessed with an idol (having no identity of their own). Of course, even as the stakes are lower here and the backdrop is quite different, the tension in the plot is similar.
The film finds a way to discuss the psyche of its two pivotal characters while revealing fragments of their lives gradually, prompting a viewer to think beyond the obvious. The urgency and the raciness in the last 40 minutes are particularly absorbing – you get to see the finer touches of the filmmaking, where the core message is depicted through visuals and no preachy dialogues.
When Logout says ‘you are what you consume,’ it hits the nail on the head, referring to our online presence and how the digital world reduces one to ‘content’, caring two hoots for one’s vulnerabilities and off-screen persona. The plot is compact, from its 110-minute runtime to limiting itself to a minimal set of characters and conflicts.
Logout is a film that’s very today in its vibe, has a racy screenplay and is driven by a strong performance by the lead. You won’t regret watching it.
Music and Other Departments?
Composers Haroon and Gavin use the anxiety and the tension in the story to churn a solid score that keeps you on your toes as the plot progresses. Within limited locations and constraints, while significantly dealing with the digital screen, Logout still manages to be visually arresting, thanks to Pooja Gupte’s cinematography. While the screenplay is neat and precise, it is helped by the slick, sharp editing, ensuring that the momentum of the story is never quite lost.
Highlights?
Babil Khan’s performance
Relevant story
Engaging screenplay
Drawbacks?
Dull start
Partly exaggerated characterisation
Did I Enjoy It?
yes
Will You Recommend It?
If you enjoy racy cyber thrillers, go for it
Logout Zee5 Movie Review by M9
