French
DeutschCTRL (film)
| CTRL | |
|---|---|
 Official release poster | |
| Directed by | Vikramaditya Motwane |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Nikhil Dwivedi Arya Menon |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Pratik Shah |
| Edited by | Jahaan Noble |
| Music by | |
Production companies | Saffron Magicworks Andolan Films |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
CTRL is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language screenlife thriller film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, written by Motwane and Avinash Sampath with dialogues by Sumukhi Suresh. Produced by Nikhil Dwivedi and Arya Menon under the banners of Saffron Magicworks and Andolan Films, the film stars Ananya Panday and Vihaan Samat.[2] It premiered on Netflix on 4 October 2024.[3]
Premise
[edit]Nella is a social media influencer with a popular internet show with her boyfriend Joe, named enJoy. One day, to surprise Joe, she goes to the restaurant where he is eating along with his public interest tech group. However, to her surprise, Joe is kissing another woman. Her livestream goes viral and turns into a huge scandal. In order to fix her life, without money, she decides to revive her channel, by making a revenge saga which becomes popular, causing her to regain her fame. While this goes on, she decides to use an app called CTRL to remove Joe's existence from all of her photos, videos and files. Unbeknownst to her, the app is secretly accessing her computer when she is not looking.
She buys an upscale apartment and lives a lavish lifestyle. However, one day, Joe comes with something urgent. She shoes him away
A few days later, she receives a call from her friend that Joe has gone missing.
Cast
[edit]- Ananya Panday[2] as Nalini "Nella" Awasthi
- Vihaan Samat[2] as Joe Mascarenhas
- Devika Vatsa as Bina
- Kamakshi Bhat as Shonali
- Suchita Trivedi[2] as Nella's mother
- Samit Gambhir as Manish Hirani
- Kundan Pandey as Kundan
- Ravish Desai as Aryan K
- Aparshakti Khurana as Allen (voice)
Production
[edit]The film was announced in February 2023.[4] Principal photography of the film wrapped in February 2024.[5] The teaser was released on 4 August 2024.[6] The film is cinematographically inspired by the POV art-style of Aneesh Chaganty's directorial debut Searching (2018).[7]
Music
[edit]| CTRL | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 14 October 2024 |
| Recorded | 2023 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 18:14 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Label | Zee Music Company |
| Official audio | |
| CTRL (Audio Jukebox) on YouTube | |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ainwayi Yunhi" | Anvita Dutt | Sneha Khanwalkar | Anika Bharwani | 4:30 |
| 2. | "B(h)adass" | Anvita Dutt | Sneha Khanwalkar | Ananya Pandey, Sneha Khanwalkar | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Ulfat" | Anvita Dutt | Sneha Khanwalkar | Mary Ann Alexander | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Teddy Bear" | Puneet Sharma | Amit Trivedi | Anand Bhaskar, Nikhita Gandhi | 2:46 |
| 5. | "Mera Boyfriend" | Yashraj Mukhate | Yashraj Mukhate | Yashraj Mukhate, Ananya Panday | 0:51 |
| Total length: | 18:14 | ||||
Reception
[edit]Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated that "CTRL, in spirit and substance, reinforces Vikramaditya Motwane's proven penchant for turning an established genre on its head."[8] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rated the film 4/5 stars and called it an "eerie, immersive, real-time experience".[9] Rishabh Suri from Hindustan Times termed the film an Indian version of Black Mirror.[10] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in considered it a "gripping thriller about data privacy in the age of AI".[11]
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated 2.5/5 stars and said in her review "While both Ananya Panday and Vihaan Samat do their job well, the film truly feels potent only when it comes off the screen."[12] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu stated in his review that "Director Vikramaditya Motwane succeeds in creating the mood, moments, and message but the thriller lacks the killer punch".[13] Arushi Jain of India Today rated 2.5/5 stars and said "Ananya Panday's film offers an intriguing concept about AI's impact on life and love but falters with a tedious execution, ultimately failing to deliver a compelling message."[14]
Dhaval Roy of The Times of India gave 3 stars out of 5 and observed that "While CTRL excels in depicting social media obsession and AI's influence, its thriller parts are underdeveloped and don’t quite hit the mark. Despite thought-provoking themes and impressive visuals, it leaves viewers craving complexity and depth."[15] Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost writes in her review that "Netflix’s CTRL teaches us to take control of our life and not to be slaves of technology. Engaging idea, but not executed well."[16] The Statesman gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that Ananya's ability to convey the emotional weight of Nella’s predicament elevates the film, making the audience empathize with her struggles, while supporting performances from the cast further enrich the narrative. The lauded the film's visual style, anchored in the digital landscape that enhances its thematic depth.[17]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "CTRL (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d FC, Team (27 April 2023). "Ananya Panday's Next is titled Control". www.filmcompanion.in. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ The Hindu Bureau (5 August 2024). "'CTRL': Ananya Panday, Vikramaditya Motwane's digital-age thriller gets released date". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "Ananya Panday to star in Vikramaditya Motwane's new film, says 'dreams do come true'". India Today. 1 February 2023. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "Ananya Panday wraps up Vikramaditya Motwane's film; pens gratitude note: 'I hope I made you proud'". The Indian Express. 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "CTRL: Ananya Panday's thriller to arrive on Netflix in October. Watch teaser". Hindustan Times.
- ^ Bhardwaj, Kartik (9 October 2024). "'CTRL' movie review: A predictable, surface-level thriller on social media obsession". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (4 October 2024). "CTRL Review: An Uncategorisable Film That Is Equal Parts Entertaining And Sobering". NDTV. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Verma, Sukanya (4 October 2024). "CTRL Review: Masterful Thriller". Rediff.
- ^ Suri, Rishabh (4 October 2024). "CTRL review: Ananya Panday's thriller on artificial intelligence is a desi, pacy version of Black Mirror". Hindustan Times.
- ^ Ramnath, Nandini (4 October 2024). "'CTRL' review: A gripping thriller about data privacy in the age of AI". Scroll.in. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Gupta, Shubhra (4 October 2024). "Ctrl movie review: Ananya Panday, Vikramaditya Motwane film is two-dimensional". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Kumar, Anuj (4 October 2024). "'CTRL' movie review: Ananya Panday is in control in this timely lesson on the dangers of AI". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Jain, Arushi (4 October 2024). "CTRL review: Ananya Panday shines in clever AI world, but execution falls short". India Today. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Roy, Dhaval (4 October 2024). "CTRL Review : Slick and stylish with a skewed narrative". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Roy, Lachmi Deb (4 October 2024). "Netflix's CTRL Movie Review: Ananya Panday's compelling performance in a not so well executed film by Vikramaditya Motwane". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "CTRL Review: A cautionary tale of love, loss and the digital age". The Statesman. 6 October 2024.
