“Zebra” movie review. (telugu) (Tamil)
Cast -Sathyadev, Sathyaraj, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Sunil, Sathya, Jeniffer Piccinato and others
Director – Eashvar Karthic
Producer – SN Reddy, Bala
Sundaram, Dinesh Sundaram
Banner – Old Town Pictures, Padmaja Films Pvt Ltd
Music – Ravi Basrur
Satyadev, who has been out of the radar is back with his
new film Zebra which also has Priya Bhavani Shankar
and Dolly Dhananjaya in key roles. Directed by Eashvar
Karthic, the crime thriller has music by Ravi Basrur.
Zebra has been released alongside Vishwak Sen’s
Mechanic Rocky and did it impress the audience or not, read our detailed review to find out.
Surya (Satyadev) works at the Bank of Trust and is in
love with Swathi(Priya Bhavani Shankar), who is yet another employee at a
different bank. One fine day, Swathi commits a major
mistake at her work and seeks help from Suriya. Left
with no choice, Suriya uses all the baking loopholes to
help her rectify the mistake. But the help he does lands
him in a major trouble related to a goon Aadi(Dolly
Dhananjaya). Suriya is left with no choice but to pay
Aadi 5 crore to come out of this mess. Who is this Aadi? and how did Surya solve the
issue and come out of the mess? That forms the story.
Satyadev is a talented actor and delivers an decent
performance. The character of Surya offers him ample scope to showcase
romance, action, and tension, and Satyadev rises to the occasion, carrying the
film on his shoulders. Dolly Dhananjaya is passable, but
the impact his character needs is not fully realized.
This is partly due to the director, who fails to
develop the character effectively. The same
applies to Sunil, who seems stuck between comedy and
negative roles, often delivering a monotonous
performance. Sathyaraj is decent in his role, though
not particularly memorable. Satya provides a few good
laughs in the second half. Priya Bhavani Shankar has a
well-written role and perfectly portrays the
character of a girl caught in a deep mess.
Eashvar Karthik has written
the script for Zebra, and it is quite interesting. The concept of bank fraud
through the use of technology provides him
with ample scope to elevate emotions and thrills in a
neat manner. The dialogues are well-written, and the production design
effectively highlights the bank backdrop. However, the screenplay is
underwhelming and overly complex, primarily due to
the inclusion of too many subplots.
Ravi Basrur’s songs are
boring, but his background
score is decent, making an
impact only in the second half of the film. The camera
work is commendable, particularly the slow-motion
shots, and the banking setup is portrayed well. However, the film urgently
needs editing, as approximately 15 minutes
could be cut. There are several unnecessary scenes
in the first half, especially
the villain’s introductory build-up shots, which add no value to the narrative.
Eashvar Karthic has directed Zebra, choosing a
contemporary subject of bank fraud and setting it up
nicely amidst the lives of two sincere bank
employees. The basic premise revolves around how these innocent
employees commit fraud and end up in major trouble with a goon. Eashvar starts
the film on a strong note, engagingly presenting the banking fraud. The
connection between the
fraud, the goon, and the hero’s subsequent troubles
including his need to pay off a large sum to the don is well established.
The interval twist is also effectively executed.
However, the film suffers from numerous filler scenes between these high points, which slow down the pace
and bore the audience. Once the main conflict is introduced, there is an
expectation of solid thrills in the second half, but that
does not happen. The director falters with a
lengthy runtime and several logical errors.
So much fraud is showcased and one gets a
feeling that whether it is so easy for banks the way they act. Eashvar takes too many
cinematic liberties, which weakens the narrative.
Additionally, Dhananjaya’s character track feels
underdeveloped as the menace he is supposed to
bring to the story lacks impact. The slow pacing of
the second half is another major issue. While a few
comedy scenes provide some relief, the overall
narration feels jaded and uneven in many areas.
The director attempts to engage the audience with a
complex screenplay by adding multiple subplots,
but this ultimately backfires, making the story feel
convoluted and dull. The robbery scenes are decent,
and the climax is handled well. However, to appreciate these moments, the
audience must sit through the dull filler scenes, which
spoil the overall experience a bit.
If Eashvar had opted for a crisper runtime and a
simpler narrative, the film’s potential could have been
realized more effectively. Finally, Zebra has a solid
story, an impressive cast,
and promising thrills, but they are executed in a
complex manner making this film just a passable
watch, and that too only for a few thrills.
This Zebra movie Tamil fans audince very likely. Picture.