Director Amit Golani has established himself as one of the most insightful storytellers in India's massive streaming entertainment market.
Golani, a co-founder of the well-known multimedia collective TVF (The Viral Fever), has a deep understanding of contemporary issues, whether it's through the relatable anxiety of engineers in Pitchers, the poignant nostalgia of Yeh Meri Family, or the idealism that clashes with reality in Aspirants.
Amit Golani's latest film, Logout, streaming on Zee5, explores the way we communicate with the digital world, including our cellphones.
However, Logout is more than simply a warning story about screen addiction. It is also a performance-driven picture, with a very moving lead performance by Babil Khan, son of the late, great Irrfan Khan.
In an exclusive conversation with MoneyControl, Amit Golani revealed that casting Babil was not influenced by his legacy.
"When we cast Babil, none of his works, including Qala, had been released. It was the same approach as any other project. We informed our casting director what we required, and we received several auditions. One of these was Babil's. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Even as I watched, I had no idea this was Babil, Irrfan's (Khan) son. We just truly loved the actor. There was an X factor to it," he said.
According to Amit, Babil's dedication to the part was the deciding factor. "In this film, you see the same face 90 percent of the time. That person must be fully committed. And when we met after reading the script, we were confident he would be ideal for this."
LogOut is set in the post-pandemic era, when the phone became more than simply a technology; it was a social lifeline, an emotional crutch, and, at times, a trap.
"I think our dependence on the phone is something that, even if you don't admit it, everybody has experienced. Especially after the lockdown — even most of our human interactions happened through that one screen," Golani explained.
LogOut was conceptualized during a casual brainstorming session with writer Biswapati Sarkar. "We were talking about another script, and one of the subplots was about a guy losing his phone. And we thought, 'Oh, this is a full script in itself'."
While the film revolves around a youthful protagonist who is only living in his social media world and is cut off from family and real life. Talking about youngsters spending more time on social media and on their phones, he said, "Not necessarily in real life, but I agree that the younger generation relies heavily on this technology. But my mother used to chastise me for spending too much time watching television. For each generation, the device is different. The only difference is that the television is present, and it can be turned off. But this device will always be with you. If you're not paying attention, it will catch your notice. It will email you a notice. It's intended to be addictive. It has the same brain effects as any other addictive chemical," he says.
Logout was released on April 18 and is streaming on Zee5. It stars Babil Khan, Rasika Dugal, and Gandharv Dewan in pivotal roles.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
