Ctrl movie review: Ananya Panday, Vikramaditya Motwane film is two-dimensional

It’s not about Nella and Joe anymore. It’s about Njoi, the Couple That Can. If ‘Njoi can, regular gal and guy, so can you. That’s your algorithm, right there.

And then the film’s tone turns darker. Joe, who works with a public technology company, discovers something terrible about a corporation that will mine your data and take full ctrl of your life, hiding in plain sight. What’s more, it will do this with your permission, because, really, who looks at ‘terms and conditions’ when signing up for the latest hot new app?

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While there’s much that Ctrl gives us to think about, it isn’t madly new. The thing with everything ‘new’ these days is that it literally gets old within the space of a few hours: only some things with more heft can last a day or two. If it’s not trending, it’s old news, out with it.

It is stuff that we have been surrounded with, especially in the past few years when AI seems to be taking over so many aspects. Nella’s expertise with her laptop—her fingers fly over the screen, whether it is the computer or the phone without a single mistake– is reflective of the ease with which so many of us use it, without really thinking about whether it is using us. How many Big Brothers, let loose by the shadowy State, are constantly watching and monitoring us? Your digital device appears to be an extension of your arm, almost. And deepfakes have been in play for a while now, putting our faces in places we have never been: what if, with increasing sophistication, our avatars will become us?

And the trouble with using so many screens to cobble together your story, is that your story leans towards 2D rather than 3D. The moment Nella takes a step away from her computer, you see her room, the corridor, the distant skyline, and you feel ah, this is real. And then she’s back to where she really seems to belong: on that screen, which is everything to her as it brings her brands, money, deals, virality, validation, and yes, the memes and trolls. Can she learn to live off it?

It is when these characters — both Panday and Samat, and the other characters in brief supporting roles, all do their job well — come off the screen, that this film feels truly potent.

Ctrl movie cast: Ananya Panday, Vihaan Samat, Devika Vatsa, Kamakshi Bhat, Aparshakti Khurana
Ctrl movie director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Ctrl movie rating: 2.5 stars