Logout movie review: Babil Khan anchors chilling tale of digital obsession and isolation

Logout story:

A tragic event occurs in the life of Pratyush (Babil Khan), a 26-year-old social media influencer, just as he is about to hit 10 million followers. In a terrifying game of cat and mouse, a fan's fixation ensnares him and destroys his meticulously constructed universe. By addressing the contemporary issue of digital dependence and delving into the perils of becoming stuck in a virtual world, Logout is both relevant and topical and can make people think about the increasing impact of digital dependence and the safety of their digital life.

Logout review:

When I was watching Vikramaditya Motwane's CTRL starring Ananya Panday on Netflix in 2024, it just reminded me of the time when Black Mirror haunted me for two days after I started the series. Now, amid the latest season of the Netflix series, we have a new Hindi film that delves into the side effects of social media on people and how our heads are just tilted down with our eyes fixed to the screens of our phones. 

Logout is about a social media influencer who became popular in no time, and he controls everything around him via his phone. He controls everything in his house, from lights to vacuum cleaners, and even uses a voice-controlled device similar to Alexa to place his orders and perform all necessary household chores. So what happens if a young influencer, who is awaiting 10 million followers on his social media page, gets his phone stolen, and that too by a crazy fan? Let's find out...

The film lasts less than two hours, revealing that Pratyush, also known as Pratman on the Internet, gained fame for his portrayal of male and female characters in the digital series Laila Majnu. Well, there's a hat-tip to Bhuvan Bam, who also makes a special appearance in the film. Pratman strives to achieve immense reach and a massive following on the Internet to gain widespread recognition and secure brand deals.

One night, while partying with friends, Pratyush gets sloshed; the next day, when he searches for his phone in his sleep, it is nowhere to be found. We all have those moments when we lose our phone and feel anxious, like a drug addict. He frantically searches for his phone until he finally gets a call from an unknown girl. This marks the start of a disturbing journey that continues until the very end.

If I can describe Logout in one word, it would be disturbing, of course, in a good and also a bad way. The movie shows the extreme effects of being a popular face and having people follow them religiously only to realise that they have gone far from reality. Not just that, there's also an escape route from people who give them a reality check, and even that's a phone.

The whole film has Babil in the frame most of the time, with only one appearance made extensively by his sister, played by Rasika Dugal. Otherwise, once the phone is lost, Pratyush is cooped up in his room and talking to the unknown girl via a voice call on the Internet only to get scared as the minute passes by. 

The film definitely has it right while having a teenage voice, from a very soft-spoken, loved-up fan to a chilling stalker who has no limits. As soon as you hear that voice, you sense the imminent danger. I was expecting the film to go into a mode where the stalker might ask Pratyush to start doing some dangerous tasks, similar to how the first scene was shown.

However, all she needed was undivided attention from her "Majnu," just like she kept giving it to him the whole time. There are moments in the film that, of course, delve into real life: how our attention span is reduced due to the phones we have, which takes away the charm of talking to real people. The thinking cap is lost in translation, and we become so dependent on the phone to do all the thinking that our brains are supposed to. 

The girl constantly says that all she wanted was for him to hear her out, and the moment she realises she's not getting it, well, it's not difficult; all hell keeps on breaking loose.

Logout is all about the external validation that many influencers need from unknown people living in different parts of the world. Even ordinary people feel disheartened when their posts get only two-digit likes and think the world doesn't like them. It's a very common feeling among millions of youngsters. 

But Logout goes into the Fan mode, where the stalker believes that their favourite is theirs and cannot be shared with anyone else. This psychological bend does work well for the film, as we see only Babil throughout this tough journey and realise how lonely he is without being able to access his phone. 

Amit Golani, who is known for being a part of The Viral Fever, directed the film, written by Biswapati Sarkar, who also comes from the same team that redefined the internet with the inception of digital content in the country. Well, it does make sense that they also show the side and the extreme effects of the digital life that's too dangerous territory to delve in, as it can break a person in no time. 

The phone is not a part of someone's life; it becomes their life because we trust the device blindly and keep all our important and confidential information stashed in it, pun intended!

We have seen this before, like nine years back, with Shah Rukh Khan only chasing Shah Rukh Khan and it's one of the best performances of the superstar in a very long time. But not taking away from the niche Logout, it does deserve the appreciation for again showing that the internet is a dangerous place and being an influencer is equally dangerous and harmful for themselves and also the people around them. 

We have seen what happened with Apoorva Mukhija, aka The Rebel Kid, who did not deserve even a per cent of the hatred she got over what she said. I mean rape and murder threats; this is the world we are living in. Logout also shows us that people think that these popular celebrities are just in their pockets like their phones and can be played with just like how they do with their phones.

People lost their conscience and seem to have lost their touch with reality, like it's long gone and Logout is again a reminder that what we see through screens is not real life and it's not supposed to be. There's no real life, to be honest, because people are refusing to live in that too!

Logout verdict:

Logout hits the right dis-connection. A chilling cautionary tale in the age of likes and lies, it asks what happens when going offline means losing your mind. Babil Khan powers through a haunting solo act, while the film dials into the dangers of digital devotion.