‘Logout’ review: Stalker thriller has sharp things to say about social media behaviour

There’s a reason it’s called a cell phone – it’s a prison designed for your mind. On this sobering as well as ominous thought, the Hindi film Logout dives into a social media influencer’s enslavement.

Pratyush (Babil Khan) can barely look up from his phone, which is a gateway to his social media account as well as his biggest ego salve. He watches his own videos and pores over the comments. He is singularly obsessed with getting 10 million subscribers before his rival Ankita does.

When the phone goes missing, Pratyush behaves as though he has lost a limb. When the phone is traced to Aabha (Nimisha Nair) who declares that she is Pratyush’s greatest fan, he comes close to losing his mind.

Amit Golani’s sharply directed Logout, written by Biswapati Sarkar, is out on ZEE5. The Hindi film finds the perfect plotting device to explore social media addiction (a celebrity at the mercy of a stalker), the disconnect between virtual and actual experiences, and the facade that cultural influence is built up organically, without behind-the-scenes manipulation.

The 108-minute film follows Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023) and CTRL (2024) in its concerns over the false freedoms and hidden dangers of social media. Logout is more modest in scope than the previous productions, with barely any secondary...

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