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If what you put on the internet is forever, would you ever trust someone else with that information? Would you ever trust anyone else with your passwords? Would you ever trust anyone else with your electronic devices? Basically, would you ever trust anyone else? Now, humanity lies in the assumption that we are what we do, and not what we think. Even the calmest of people might be riding a storm in their minds, but we judge people on their actions, and not on their thoughts. This line between actions and thoughts are blurring in the digital era, and it is on this imaginary line that three recent films — Khel Khel Mein, CTRL and I am Kathalan — sashayed around with three different conceits, three different approaches, but one common question — what happens when you are caught in the world wide web of lies?
With the internet consuming us from within, even the thoughts in the darkest crevices of our mind find a way to enter the digital realm. Even if it is the gentlest of all trods, there is a footprint left for the discerning to see. We know what it means to have them. We know that most of the good people are good because they haven’t been caught acting upon the bad things they think. Or they haven’t been caught doing the bad things they do.
Both CTRL and Khel Khel Mein discussed the idea of how easy it is to live a double or even a triple life. The entire premise of Khel Khel Mein lies in the fact that our phones would always be faithful to us. Our mirage of social status and security is hinged on the fact that no one has access to our electronic devices except us. Probably why Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL is an important addition to the tech genre of Indian cinema. It lets us know that we are not the masters of our data. The film asks us to read the fine print, and the best part? It tells most of us that there is no point reading it either.
Interestingly, Malayalam cinema’s addition to this tech universe, Girish AD’s I am Kathalan is neither all-out fun like Khel Khel Mein nor dark and debilitating as CTRL. It walks the thin line between regaling us with a fun take on the perils of technology, and a reality check on how close to danger we often skirt around.
ALSO READ: I Am Kathalan movie review: This Naslen, Girish AD film should have hit the screens before Premalu
Another fascinating connection between these three films is the age group of the protagonists. In Khel Khel Mein, it is fair to assume that the average age of the group playing the ‘Place the phones on the table, receive all calls on speaker, and read out all messages’ game is in the early 40s or late 30s. Now, this is a generation that grew up with cassette players, transitioned to CD-players, and then iPods, and then phones that played songs. Even in phones, they started off with… you get the gist, right? Now, this generation grew along with technology, but there is a stark difference between growing alongside it, and entering fully equipped. For the generation of Khel Khel Mein, there was learning and unlearning to do, and they believed technology was the solution even if it was the problem. The protagonists of CTRL and I am Kathalan know that technology is the problem, and there is no real solution in sight. That is why they are revelling in the grasp of technology knowing there is no out.
CTRL and I am Kathalan also speak about the lack of understanding of the internet problem among many who willingly submit to the demands of an invisible puppet master. And it is the old guard, who actually make a lot of sense in both the films. Take, for instance, Naslen’s dad in I am Kathalan, who overhears his plans of not-so-ethical hacking. He storms in and says, “I have no clue what you do on this computer, but don’t create disturbance for anyone.” This statement is echoed in a different scene later albeit with the right tinge of sentiment.
The protagonists of CTRL and I am Kathalan enter the rabbit hole of internet because of romantic entanglement and its disintegration. While CTRL takes a dark turn very soon, I am Kathalan keeps the darkness at an arm’s length. Honestly, every succeeding moment of IAK had the opportunity to go down the CTRL side, but the director ensures the lighthearted nature of the film is never let go even while venturing into the realm of cyber crime, and its ugly after-effects. CTRL wants you to join the journey into the dark underbelly of the digital world.
ALSO READ: Ctrl movie review: Ananya Panday, Vikramaditya Motwane film is two-dimensional
So, which of these two films were actually more effective in deterring you from trusting everything that is on the internet? Was it CTRL, which went all Black Mirror on the audience, and told about data farming and how even the simplest of log-ins can result in catastrophic results if things don’t want to go your way? Was it I am Kathalan where a simple battle of egos almost gets in the way of a possibly better future, and put the protagonist on a path that could potentially ruin everything in his life, and the lives of everyone around him? Which of these two were more compelling about the perils of the internet and putting yourself out there?
Well, as a 35-year-old, it was actually Khel Khel Mein because… “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog” and like many, I’d prefer it staying that way.
Parallel Cinema is a column where we explore parallels between films, in terms of themes, intent, and techniques. Because the more things change, the more they stay the same
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