Girish AD, Malayalam's super successful director of romcoms, has changed from his usual template to tell the story of a young hacker in 'I am Kathalan', his latest outing. The techno-thriller features Naslen, who has collaborated with Girish several times. This time, he plays a young engineering student with plenty of back papers who struggles to find a job. His relationship with his girlfriend Shilpa (Anishma) is on the rocks, especially when she realises he has hacked her Instagram account.
Naslen as Vishnu seems like an extension of his previous character Sachin in 'Premalu' who also faces love failure. However, unlike 'Premalu' or 'Super Saranya', the story is not focused solely on the boy's quest to win over the love of his life but rather deals with a professional crime.
Girish has always been a minimalist with his themes, creating simple, straightforward stories engagingly. That has worked for him in the past. He uses the same storytelling style for 'I am Kathalan' too. While this makes the film extremely relatable, techno-thriller enthusiasts may find the premise a bit simple for a movie that deals with the dark world of cyber espionage.
The Naslen-Girish combo, which created magic with this year's blockbuster 'Premalu', delivers yet another enjoyable movie. However, it does not have all the ingredients of their previous film, which was one of the biggest hits in Malayalam cinema in recent times. Actor-turned-scriptwriter Sajin Cherukayil's script is neat but some of the humorous dialogues fall flat.
Girish's biggest forte is his ability to tell love stories in modern settings with ease and conviction. But the theme of 'I am Kathalan' limits him to an extent. Despite that, he creates some special moments for die-hard romantics during the narrative, and Naslen seems like the perfect person to translate those emotions on screen.
'Poovan' actor Anishma, national award-winning actor Lijomol Jose, and 'Super Saranya' fame Vineeth Vasudevan play their roles perfectly.
