An Ordinary Man, An Extraordinary Mess
Nissam Basheer’s I, Nobody opens with a premise that instantly hooks you: Rajeevan, a mild-mannered government clerk played by Prithviraj Sukumaran, walks into a bank on a routine morning and walks out a hostage. Robbers storm the branch looking for a Rs. 17 crore haul, an accident kills them before they can escape, and the money simply disappears. Rajeevan becomes the only man left standing — and instantly, the only suspect anyone wants to look at.
It’s a terrific setup, and for its first half, the film knows it. Basheer, who built his name on slow-burn suspense, lets the paranoia creep in from every direction — the police, the neighbours, the news channels, even Rajeevan’s own family start to wonder. The film is at its sharpest when it’s tracking how quickly an ordinary man can be turned into a headline, and how social media speeds up the process of turning suspicion into a verdict.
A Marriage Under the Microscope
The emotional anchor here isn’t the heist — it’s the marriage. Parvathy Thiruvothu, playing Rajeevan’s wife Meera, gives the film its quieter, more affecting moments, and pairing her again with Prithviraj (their first outing since the beloved Ennu Ninte Moideen) pays off. This time, the two aren’t young lovers but parents trying to hold a family together while the world outside decides their husband and father is a criminal. The two young actors playing their daughters add an unexpectedly lived-in texture to the domestic scenes, which end up carrying more weight than some of the film’s bigger set pieces.
Where It Loses Its Grip
The trouble starts exactly where you’d expect: the answers. A film built entirely on “why him, and where’s the money” needs its final act to deliver on both fronts, and I, Nobody fumbles the handoff. The back half trades the tight, grounded tension of the setup for action sequences that are well shot but feel imported from a different, flashier movie — impressive on their own terms, out of place in a story about a man who is supposed to be nobody special. The resolution, when it arrives, answers the plot’s questions without really answering the film’s more interesting ones about how quickly public opinion turns.
Performances Do the Heavy Lifting
Prithviraj is convincing as a man trying to hold his nerve while everyone around him has already made up their mind, and it’s a more internal, restrained performance than his recent action-first roles. The supporting cast, particularly Vijayaraghavan and Ashokan, add credibility to the police and media machinery closing in around Rajeevan. Jakes Bejoy’s score keeps the tension humming even when the writing loosens its grip.
Verdict
I, Nobody is a film with a genuinely gripping opening act and a family drama worth caring about, let down by a final stretch that trades its own smart premise for spectacle. Worth a watch for the setup and the performances — just don’t expect the payoff to match the promise.
Bullseye Rating: ★★★ (3/5 stars)
