What’s it about?
Surya (Satyadev) and Swathi (Priya Bhavani Shankar) are romantically involved and employed at different banks. When Swathi encounters difficulties at her bank, Surya assists her by employing illicit banking maneuvers. While Swathi finds relief in the resolution of the issue, Surya finds himself in a more serious situation with Aditya (Daali Dhanunjaya), a don who has transformed into a wheelerdealer.
Upon discovering that Surya was responsible for the transfer of his 5 crore to several accounts, Aditya compels Surya to restore the funds to his account within four days.
Can an ordinary bank worker who depends on his monthly income recover Rs 5 crore in only four days? In what manner does he do so?
Analysis
Tamil filmmaker Eashvar Karthic’s “Zebra” captures our attention in the nearly thirty-minute introductory segment. The director’s introduction of each character and the stylish editing effectively engage the audience; yet, he fails to maintain this momentum after an hour, resulting in the film losing its rhythm. Logic is disregarded. All situations appear to have contrived a point.
The initial proceedings present Satyadev as the protagonist. But the character of Daali Dhanunjaya subsequently assumes a more prominent role than Satyadev. Still, the character graph of Daali appears ambiguous towards the end.
What first appeared intriguing in Satyadev’s business dealings became tedious midway due to the repetitious nature of the hero’s challenges. Consequently, the effectiveness of initial segments diminishes in subsequent sections.
Despite the director’s skillful direction, his own storyline and concepts hinder him in the latter part of the film.
The film is rich in technical and production aspects, with competent performances by the actors. Satyadev does his role effectively, while Daali exhibits a commanding screen presence, adeptly portraying both the negative and positive facets of his character. Sunil is superb in his role. Priya Bhavani Shankar once again fails to captivate us. Sathya elicits some laughs.
The cinematography is slick.
Bottom line: “Zebra,” a film about bank fraud and money laundering, starts off strong and captivates in the early episodes, but it falters midway and becomes overly prolonged.
Rating: 2.5/5
Movie: Zebra
Cast: Satya Dev, Daali Dhananjaya, Sathyaraj, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Sunil Verma, Sathya Akala, Jeniffer Piccinato and others
Music: Ravi Basrur
DOP: Satya Ponmar
Editor: Anil Krish
Production Designer: N Chinna
Stunts: Rabin Subbu
Produced by: SN Reddy, Bala Sundaram, Dinesh Sundaram
Written and Directed by: Eashvar Karthic
Release Date: November 22, 2024
