Upamanyu Biswas
The Netflix screenlife thriller ‘CTRL‘ centers on the relationship between Nella Awasthi and her boyfriend, Joe Mascarenhas. After the two meet in college, their social media presence swells as they launch their vlogging channel, ‘NJOY,’ which captures various funny moments between the pair. However, when Joe cheats on Nella with another girl, the channel crumbles to dust as they go through a very public and viral breakup. Following their separation, the protagonist has to deal with Joe’s digital footprint on her life and the lasting impact NJOY had on each other’s lives and memories.
NJOY: The Relationship Vlog Channel With No Ties to Reality
‘CTRL’ is a movie that deals with the dark side of social media and the constant need for affirmation it creates in people. As such, to authentically capture its themes, the story delves into various online-related phenomena and how content creators navigate them. NJOY, the channel run by Nella and Joe, is one such instance in the film. It is a fictional vlog channel created by director Vikramaditya Motwane and co-writers Avinash Sampath and Sumukhi Suresh. The channel’s name comes from the addition of Nella and Joe’s name and is the couple’s primary source of income following their graduation from college.
In reality, the abbreviation NJOY is a common designation associated with all types of organizations and entities. Most prominently, it is the name of a subsidiary that manufactures and distributes electronic cigarettes, being one of the first leading brands to do so. NJOY, LLC was founded in 2007 and, as of 2023, is owned by the Altria Group. However, the distinction between the e-cigarette company and the Nella and Joe venture could not be further apart as the latter is simply a vlog channel. Although they do get sponsored by a number of private entities, namely the Mantra Unlimited corporation, they are primarily a new-generation media channel with millions of followers across the platforms they promote themselves.
In the aftermath of Nella and Joe’s breakup, the channel becomes a source of great irritation and frustration for the former as she feels humiliated by Joe’s actions. Furthermore, the channel also hosts thousands of videos and photographs of the pair being lovey-dovey, which only brings more pain to her. In her desperation, she seeks out the CTRL app and tasks it with removing any presence of Joe from her digital life, thereby allowing her complete freedom to express herself once more. Therefore, in many ways, NJOY becomes one of the key players in the conflict that arises between Nella and Joe. The film even raises questions about the ethics of airing one’s intimate moments through a social media site. However, its narrative prominence is challenged by its real-life roots, as it does not actually exist.
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