Star Cast: Babil Khan, Rasika Dugal
Director: Amit Golani
Logout Movie Review Synopsis:
LOGOUT is the story of an influencer and a fan. Pratyush Dua (Babil Khan) stays in Delhi alone, away from his family. He’s a massive phone addict and also a popular influencer who goes by the name ‘Pratman’. His follower count is about to reach the 10 million mark. However, another popular influencer, Ankita (Anisha Victor), is also all as set to cross the coveted mark. The netizens are charged up to see who gets 10 million followers first. Pratyush’s friend and manager JD (Gandharv Dewan) insists that Pratyush should win the race. If that happens, a popular company will sign him up for a tempting deal, that will change things for him. But they would sign Ankita if she manages to get 10 million followers before Pratyush. As part of the strategy of getting more followers, Pratyush meets Bhuvan Bam at an event and shoots a collab video. He gets heavily drunk and goes live on his social media, asking his followers to help him amass 10 million followers. The next day, Pratyush wakes up only to find that his phone is missing. Since he was intoxicated the previous night, he’s unable to remember where he kept his phone. He opens his PC to track his device. This is when he gets an email from a girl whom he had met in Gwalior a year back, Aabha. She claims that she called his number and a cabbie happened to pick the call. She further claimed that Pratyush forgot the phone in the cab and that she’d help him get his phone back. Pratyush is relieved that his phone’s whereabouts are known. She makes him pay an amount to the driver, so that he can come all the way to his residence to deliver the phone. But while transferring the money, the OTP is sent to Pratyush’s phone. With no other option, Pratyush gives his phone password to Aabha, so that the driver can access the OTP. Soon, Pratyush realizes that he didn’t leave the phone in the cab and that Aabha is the one who has his phone. What’s worse is that Aabha is not her real name; she refuses to divulge her identity. She claims to be his biggest fan and wants to spend time with him; or else, she’ll expose him on social media. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Logout Movie Story Review:
Biswapati Sarkar’s story is terrific and very relevant for today’s times. Biswapati Sarkar’s screenplay is very captivating until the middle of the second half. To engage the audience when there’s just one actor on screen 90% of the time and the other character’s voice is heard is not easy. But the writing is very tight and hence, one doesn’t get bored. However, the climax leaves a lot to be desired. Biswapati Sarkar’s dialogues are conversational and realistic.
Amit Golani’s direction is supreme. To begin with, the various social media and email accounts shown in the film are all fictitious and inspired by real-life apps and websites. But this bit is depicted in a very authentic manner. Secondly, there are a lot of nail-biting moments in the film and it’s impressive they managed to do that since the setting is very unconventional. Moreover, it looks convincing when Pratyush divulges his phone’s password and he believes the fan. Also interesting is how Pratyush uses his brain to understand who this fan can be.
Sadly, the makers mess up the film in the second half. One of the biggest problems with LOGOUT is that one never comes to know under what circumstances Pratyush loses his phone. The makers chose not to present this crucial aspect at all. They also conveniently forget what happened to Pratyush’s ex-girlfriend Smriti, especially after the caller tried to harm her relationship with her fiancé. The climax tries to raise an important issue but the message doesn’t come across neatly.
Logout Movie Review Performances:
Speaking of performances, Babil Khan shines. He’s visible in most of the scenes and he makes good use of the opportunity to prove his worth. The character goes through a lot and Babil’s expressions, body language and his way of emoting are spot-on. Nimisha Nair (caller) has limited screen time and is quite good. She is seen less and heard more and her dialogue delivery is praiseworthy. Rasika Dugal (Pratyush’s sister) is lovely, as always, in a cameo. Gandharv Dewan, Anisha Victor and others are fair.
Logout movie music and other technical aspects:
There’s only one song in the film – ‘Tipi Tipi Tap’ – and it’s forgettable. Haroon & Gavin’s background score, however, adds to the tension. Pooja Gupte’s cinematography is appropriate. Sukant Panigrahy’s production design is cool, especially the interiors of Pratyush’s house. Special mention should go to the VFX team and graphics – the scenes of the computer screen are classy. Pampa Biswas’s costumes are straight out of life. Atanu Mukherjee’s editing is slick but could have been sharper in a few places.
Logout Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, LOGOUT raises an important issue and features a gripping, nail-biting first half, with Babil Khan’s impactful performance serving as the icing on the cake. However, the weak second half and underwhelming climax dilute some of its overall impact.