‘I Am Kathalan’ is produced by Dr Paul Varghese. (Supplied)
I Am Kathalan (Malayalam)
06-11-2024,
Thriller, Drama,
1 hour 51 minutes
U
Theatre
- Main Cast: Naslen Gafoor, Lijo Mol Jose, and Dileesh Pothan
- Director:Girish AD
- Producer:Dr Paul Varghese
- Music Director:Siddhartha Pradeep
- Cinematography:Sharan Velayudhan
The successful combination of Girish AD and Naslen is back again with another entertainer — this time it’s based on cyber hacking. I Am Kathalan is the duo’s new outing after their blockbuster Premalu.
The title I Am Kathalan gives the impression that the movie is a love story, but it is not an exclusive romantic film. Girish AD who is known for crafting movies keeping in mind the trend of the youth has come out with another film having similar techniques to woo the audience.
The film has a different storyline; it speaks about cybersecurity issues and hacking in the backdrop of a love story. Let’s check the plot of the movie.
Also Read: Naslen- Girish AD’s ‘I Am Kathalan’ to release on 7 November
The synopsis
Vishnu (Naslen) is an engineering student trying to land a job, but due to his supplementary exams and weak profile, he isn’t getting one. He is in a relationship with Shilpa (Anishma Anilkumar), daughter of Chacko, a banker played by Dileesh Pothan.
Shilpa is on the verge of ending her relationship as Vishnu isn’t getting any jobs and does not have any passion for his career. However, he is well-versed in cyber hacking. To make his character convincing, the makers have written scenes where he is hacking passwords of Wi-Fi connections and social media accounts.
Shilpa gets posted as the IT Head of her father’s private bank (NBFC) and starts working there. But as she starts working, she begins to avoid Vishnu.
In one instance, Chacko comes to know about her relationship with Vishnu. This is a turning point in the story as Vishnu is being beaten by her father.
Vishnu’s expertise in hacking becomes important in the story as he hacks into the server of the bank owned by Shilpa’s father. This creates real tension for Shilpa and her father as it affects their business.
The movie then shifts its focus to technical aspects of the IT field. Vishnu’s tactics to hack the bank server and the damages he does to the bank forms the crux of the movie.
What happens to Vishnu? Will both Vishnu and Shilpa get united? How many times does Vishnu intrude into the database of the bank? Can Simi (Lijo Mol), a cyber security expert, trace Vishnu as she feels that he is a criminal? All these form the synopsis of the movie.
Also Read: Dulquer Salmaan’s next is with Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen
Engaging screenplay
Girish AD is known for making films with an essence of comedy elements in it. When compared to his previous outing, I Am Kathalan is having less lighter moments because the subject doesn’t work with slapstick comedy.
Girish’s trademark natural comedy hidden with the dialogue has worked in this movie.
The screenplay by Sajin Cherukayil is engaging as it has moments which make the audience laugh. The movie, as in usual love stories, doesn’t have colourful songs.
Having delivered a blockbuster, Girish AD’s new movie will surely have a comparison with it and in that case, I Am Kathalan isn’t that jovial film but it surely has its moments.
Interestingly, in Jo and Jo (2022), Naslen is trying to open the security code of the female lead’s phone in a very unprofessional manner. Here, in I Am Kathalan, he is doing a role that is a hacker and is capable of misusing hacking.
The film also shows how hacking is a major threat to the lack of proper cybersecurity implementation, even in small-scale firms.
The characters played by Sajin Cherukayil (Sujith), the IT consultant and Mathew (Vineeth Vasudevan), the CA of the bank, are tailor-made. Their roles are written to make people watch the movie for that and both have proven to perform well in comedy scenes before.
An important character is Simi played by Lijo Mol, a cyber security expert and she does an investigation based on the hacking. All her explanations and findings regarding the hacker were convincing to an average audience.
The scenes involving hacking and keywords such as Phishing, and VPN code aren’t new to young audiences aware of these new technologies.
I Am Kathalan has been able to make the audience feel that they aren’t cheated with any gimmicks while showing hacking scenes.
The cinematography of the movie by Sharan Velayudhan who previously did Thalavan (2024) was impressive. The music of the movie, especially the background scenes, was good.
Also Read: Increasing violence in Malayalam films and need for proper certification
Performances
I Am Kathalan has good performances by most actors who have acted in it. Naslen as Vishnu was impressive with his mannerisms of an aimless unemployed youth. Anishma Anil Kumar as Shilpa had a decent role as the female lead in the movie.
Sajin Cherukayil and Vineeth Vasudevan as mentioned have been able to make comedy scenes work.
Dileesh Pothan as Chacko, the banker is the serious character in the movie. His portrayal of a traditional businessman who worries about the expenditure of his company was safe in his hands.
Final take
I Am Kathalan is an engaging entertainer from Girish AD and Naslen without any dull moments.
(Views expressed here are personal. Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
