‘I, Nobody’ Movie Review: An unconventional thriller that falters in its final act

Photo from ‘I, Nobody’ | Photo credit: Special arrangement

How far would fallen man go for redemption? If one were to ask Rajeevan (Prithviraj Sukumaran), the protagonist of Nissam Basheer, I, Nobody, he would probably say: from one extreme, reckless act to the other. As a result, the film also takes place on a rollercoaster of a series of events that are interesting and unconventional to the point of devolving into a chaotic failure.

After all, almost every other character in I, Nobody seems to believe that their redemption arc consists of jumping into an even bigger problem than the one they’re already involved in, almost as if they derive some pleasure from further tightening the noose around their necks. These are the people who would bring in a house mover to pick up a dead leaf that fell on their front yard. But then we need such people to create unusual film situations, of which there are many in I, Nobody.

Shot from the movie | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Rajeevan is a government employee who accidentally gets involved in a bank robbery. It becomes the starting point of a series of events that will change the life of someone who lived a fairly ordinary life with his wife Meera (Parvathy) and two children. The incident will also serve as the seed of a man-against-the-system narrative, where an unknown entity suddenly finds itself in a spotlight it didn’t want.

I Nobody (Malayalam)

Directed by: Nissam Basheer

Starring: Prithviraj, Parvathy, Hakkim Shahjahan, Ashokan, Madhupal, Beena Chandran, Nishanth Sagar Shankar Ramakrishnan, Vijayaraghavan, Khalid Rahman, Ronny Varghese

Synopsis: A government employee accidentally becomes involved in a bank robbery, setting off a chain of events that will change his life

Duration: 168 minutes

Parts of Me, No One even feel like blasting certain rumor mongering YouTube channels that spread false stories against individuals without verification or editorial review. It shows the real consequences of such videos being consumed by millions of people who are hungry for controversy. Nissam Basheer, who created the interesting psychological thriller Rorschach with screenwriter Sameer Abdul, this time brings a theme that is closer to the real world, but still feels exaggerated at times.

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Photo from ‘I, Nobody’ | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Things get pretty tense till the halfway point, with the film taking us to all the unimaginable directions that Rajevan’s mind can travel. These are some of the best written parts of the movie that managed to completely engross us. Prithviraj also takes a reserved stance after a long time which suits the character well. Technically, the film is on par with some of the best works of Malayalam cinema in recent years, with neat, thoughtful framing and editing. The action sequences, especially the one inside the flat elevator, are also given a fresh approach.

Much like how some teams lost ground due to hydration breaks in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, the film becomes quite a different, messed-up animal after the interval. Shades of the spirit of Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday (2008) can be felt in the final act, but unlike that film, which managed to get its message across with remarkable impact, I, Nobody fumbles a bit. The so-called redemption is achieved through a contrived set of sequences, while the final scenes make one wonder what the film was actually trying to convey. A film with such a promising opening hour and half-time climax deserved a better final act.

I, Nobody is currently playing in theaters

Published – 9 Jul 2026 18:25 IST