# Asha Black

Asha Black is a 2014 Indian Malayalam thriller film written and directed by John Robinson in his directorial debut and produced by Bindhu John Varghese. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Nee Naan Nizhal (transl. You, me and the shadow). The film stars R. Sarathkumar and Arjun Lal, while Ishitha Chauhan plays the titular character. Manoj K. Jayan, Devan, and Krishnabhaskar Mangalasserri play supporting roles. The music was composed by Jecin George with cinematography by Alby and editing by Nikil Venu. The film released on 10 October 2014.
The film deals with the dark alleys of the World Wide Web, showing how the unmonitored use of the Internet by young adults can make them prey to predators who supply pornographic material and how neglected children become victims of sexual abuse.

## Plot

Five people of Indian origin are killed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, within a short period of time. At first, the attacks are believed to be racially motivated, but investigating officer Anwar Ali, a Tamilian of Indian origin, feels that there are no grounds for that claim. He and his team find a common factor among the victims on Facebook: they all had a mutual friend called "Asha Black". Asha is a 17-year-old girl addicted to making online friends and chatting with them 24/7.
When an online romance blooms between "Asha Black" and Coimbatore-based young musician, Rohit, Rohit decides to go to Kuala Lumpur to meet her on her 18th birthday. With the help of a taxi driver Senthilnathan, he reaches Asha's house, but unfortunately, she has committed suicide. Then, it is revealed that Asha was a victim of sexual abuse through Facebook, and she is addicted to it because her parents have no time to spend with her. Enraged, Rohit, with the help of Senthilnathan, kills Asha's tormentors and finally kills a security guard who sexually abused Asha when she was a young girl in school, and this news was abandoned by her own parents to safeguard their reputation. Anwar tracks down Rohit with all evidence and arrests him but silently praises his killings. The film ends with Anwar realizing how parents' care and attention is important to children stopping them from getting addicted to bad habits and discusses with his daughter to how to spend their weekend.

## Cast

| Actor | Actor | Role | Role |
| Malayalam | Tamil | Role | Role |
| R. Sarathkumar | R. Sarathkumar | ASP Anwar Ali | ASP Anwar Ali |
| Arjun Lal | Arjun Lal | Rohit | Rohit |
| Ishitha Chauhan | Ishitha Chauhan | Asha Srinivas (Asha Black / Nee Naan Nizhal) | Asha Srinivas (Asha Black / Nee Naan Nizhal) |
| Manoj K. Jayan | Manoj K. Jayan | Senthil Nathan | Senthil Nathan |
| Devan | Devan | Srinivas | Srinivas |
| Krishnabhaskar Mangalasserri | Krishnabhaskar Mangalasserri | Police Officer Ram | Police Officer Ram |
| Anjali Aneesh Upasana | Anjali Aneesh Upasana | Anwar Ali's wife | Anwar Ali's wife |
| Bhagath Manuel | Bhagath Manuel | Sidhu | Sidhu |
| Pandi | Pandi | Pandi | Pandi |
| Fathima Babu | Fathima Babu | Rohit's mother | Rohit's mother |
| Rizabawa | Rizabawa | Rohit's father | Rohit's father |
| Karthik Das | Karthik Das | Rohit's friend | Rohit's friend |
| Haridass | Haridass | Police Inspector (formerly Asha's school security guard) | Police Inspector (formerly Asha's school security guard) |
| Kottayam Nazeer | M. S. Bhaskar | Thambi | Thambi |
| Vinod Kedamangalam | Kadhal Arun Kumar | Thambi's assistant | Thambi's assistant |

## Production

The team shot scenes in Kerala and Malaysia in September 2013, with debutant director John Robinson revealing that the plot would revolve around the dangers of social networks. Arjun Lal, previously seen as a child/teenage artiste in Thanmathra (2005), made a comeback in a leading role. Though he played just a supporting role, the film used Sarath Kumar's presence to market the film extensively in both languages. The Tamil version was initially titled Narumughai.

## Soundtrack

The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Jecin George. Song lyrics were written by Din Nath Puthanchery and Jecin George. The audio release of the film was held on May 10, 2014.

## Release and reception

The Malayalam and Tamil versions opened simultaneously on 10 October 2014.

### Asha Black

Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com rated the film 2/5 stars and wrote, "Message or no message, Asha Black is not a very interesting film".

### Nee Naan Nizhal

A critic from The Hindu concluded, "It's a weird love story and a crime thriller — and its big problem is that it can't balance both".