A Digi-thriller for screen obsessed.

A Digi-thriller for screen obsessed: My quick take on movie “CTRL” (Netflix)

Ah, a Gen-Z thriller brought to you by those tech-obsessed creators whose mission is to scare the digital daylights out of Gen-sapiens like me. CTRL comes in at the right time, when we’re still reminiscing about the pagers going bust, yet being asked to fear AI controlling our very lives. Thank you, Vikramaditya Motwane, for yet another “ज़रा हटके” flick—because clearly, nothing screams contemporary like an AI buddy screwing up your life.

The plot? Oh, it’s just your regular Instagram-obsessed live-in couple whose five-year digital paradise is shattered by the arrival of that pesky ‘woh’ in their Pati-Patni setup. In a desperate attempt to delete her ex from existence (digitally, of course), our heroine opts for an AI-powered app because, sure, that’s never gone wrong before. But oops! The app, in a shocking twist of events, decides to encroach on her privacy and exploit her data—because clearly, we didn’t see that coming from a mile away.

The plot thickens (sarcasm alert) as her ex, a digital vigilante (how original), uncovers the dark deeds of the online portal and gets bumped off. Now, our girl is out for digital justice, but can she outwit the all-powerful AI? Or will she be reduced to a walking meme in a sea of hashtags? You’ll have to commit 90 minutes of your life to find out—good luck with that.

On the performance front, Ananya Pandey absolutely rocks her “nerdy” avatar, which is basically just her being… well, her. No big names here—probably because the budget went into creating that AI nightmare instead of hiring a known cast. If you’ve seen iRobot or an episode of Black Mirror, you’ve seen this story. But hey, they did manage to keep me on the edge of my seat, mostly wondering when the next plot twist I’d already predicted would hit.

As a proud member of the generation that thrived on Nana Patekar’s “Control Uday, Control” and who still believes ctrl-alt-del is a magical life reset, this CTRL is an eye-opener. Or maybe just a gentle reminder that the real nightmare isn’t AI—it’s how glued we are to the screen.

Watch it—if you’re brave enough.