I Am Kathalan

I Am Kathalan is a List of [Malayalam films of 2024|2024] Indian Malayalam-language cyber thriller film directed by Girish A. D. and produced by Dr. Paul Varghese and Krishnamoorthy under the banner of Dr. Paul Entertainment, with co-production by Tinu Thomas. The screenplay of the film was written by Sajin Cherukayil. The film features Naslen, Anishma Anilkumar, Lijomol Jose, Dileesh Pothan, Vineeth Vasudevan, Sajin Cherukayil, Vineeth Viswam and Arjun K.
The film was officially announced on 24 November 2022. Principal photography commenced on 29 December 2022, in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, Kerala. The film showcases music and original background score by Sidhartha Pradeep.
I Am Kathalan released in theatres on 7 November 2024. It received mixed reviews from audiences and was an average success at the box office.

Plot

Unable to find employment after graduating due to his backlogs and less-than-impressive projects, Vishnu is at a crossroads in his love life after his girlfriend Shilpa decides to move on, as she can't imagine a life with someone who has nothing going for him. After an encounter with her dad Chacko leaves him humiliated, Vishnu vows to take revenge on Chacko's chit-fund company, using his cyber skills under the name of Kathalan which means "lover" in the Indian language Tamil. He hacks their server several times, leaving them with financial losses. Things turn complicated when an ethical hacker named Simi enters and helps Chacko to find Kathalan, the masked hacker. Shilpa ends up marrying an accountant in her father's company and he decides to taunt Vishnu so that they can somehow catch up but Vishnu covers his tracks so well that he is never caught for his cyber hacking crimes. Vishnu's father finally gifts him with a laptop and just asks him to "do good" with it and the movie ends with a twist that you wouldn't expect as he interviews with the same person who has been trying to track him down.

Cast

Naslen as Vishnu Suresh
Lijomol Jose as Simi
Anishma Anilkumar as Shilpa Periyadan
Dileesh Pothan as Chacko Periyadan
Vineeth Vasudevan as Mathew Thomas
Sajin Cherukayil as Praveen Kumar
Vineeth Vishwam as Aneesh
Arshad Ali as Udayan
Kiran Josey as Jills
Zhinz Shan as Vishnu's father
Kavitha as Vishnu's mother
Saran Panicker
Arjun K.
Sanath Sivaraj
T. G. Ravi as Mathematics professor
Production

Development

This film marks Girish A. D.'s fourth directorial project. On 24 November 2022, he revealed his collaboration with Naslen and writer Sajin Cherukayil with a title poster. Produced by Dr. Paul Varghese and Krishnamoorthy under the banner of Dr. Paul Entertainment, the film is also co-produced by Tinu Thomas. Cinematographer Sharan Velayudhan handled the cinematography, while the editing was done by Akash Joseph Varghese.

Casting

Following the success of Premalu, Naslen reunited with Girish A. D. for their next project. The team has announced that Lijomol Jose, Dileesh Pothan, and Anshima Anilkumar will join the cast, with Anshima Anilkumar, who acted in Poovan, taking on the female lead role. The film will also feature Sajin Cherukayil, Vineeth Vasudevan, Vineeth Viswam, Arshad Ali, and Arshad in key roles. Additionally, the director revealed that the film will introduce some newcomers.

Filming

The principal photography commenced on 9 November 2022, with a puja ceremony. The shoot spanned more than 35 days, concluding on 20 December 2022. Filming occurred in and around Irinjalakuda, Thrissur.

Music

The music and original background score was composed by Sidhartha Pradeep, who has earlier worked in Manhole and Kho Kho. The music rights of the film were bagged by Think Music.

Release

The film released on 7 November 2024. The film was released on manoramaMAX OTT platform on 17 January 2025.

Reception

Critical response

Anjana George of The Times of India gave the film 3/5 stars and wrote, "Overall, I Am Kathalan offers a fresh, serious take on the genre, but its slow pace and focus on emotional depth may not engage all viewers".