BOTTOM LINE
An Overstuffed Confusion
RATING
2/5
CENSOR
2h 44m, U/A Certified.
What Is the Film About?
Satya (Satyadev) is a relationship manager at Bank Of Trust. He also knows the loopholes in the banking system to manage his way around with money, which he believes is the root cause of all troubles.
Meanwhile, Adi is a powerful Don making a massive business deal with Guptha (Sunil). The ego of these big shots is disturbed when Satya’s act leads to a loss of money and creates a temporary fallout among the various parties.
The movie’s basic story is what Satya did, the mess it lands him in and how he comes out of the impossible situation.
Performances
Satya Dev gets a role that plays to his strengths again. The character brings out different emotions into play, like fun, drama and romance. Amidst all these the sharp dialogue delivery remains the best, though.
Priya Bhavani Shankar gets a decent role in the movie. It is not just a romantic interest side quest of hero kind of part and has actual involvement, albeit smaller, in the plot. Within the given space, Priya Bhavani Shankar too showcases different emotions and manages to stand her ground.
Analysis
Zebra is a financial crime genre flick. Right from the opening, this fact is registered in the audience’s mind with the various dialogues and situations. So, it’s simple, if one doesn’t get the happening initially, things are going to get difficult, further.
To those who have no issue with the technical jargon and comprehension, there are engaging moments peppered through the first half via the banking backdrop. Despite the setting being used recently in another movie, the feeling of extreme familiarity never sets in.
The movie picks up momentum when a banking incident related to the heroine comes up. Since then, the proceedings move steadily and reaches a crescendo around the interval mark where the lead finds himself in an entirely impossible situation.
The first half is a mix of exciting and non-exciting stuff, but still one tilts towards the positive side due to the engaging moments and casting that spins a fresh appeal to the routine.
The expectations for the second half are slightly higher than what it would be at the start of the movie, for sure. However, when the film resumes post-intermission things slowly start to fall apart.
It all starts with the way the interval issue is resolved. It’s like pouring water on any expectations one might have had. The needless flashback to the second main character, who is almost treated as a parallel lead is the next. He is the most powerful character in the movie and we get a personal peek into his past. It dilutes the impact that one felt during the first half.
The second biggest problem is the thrill aspect related to the narrative. The convolution sets in the proceedings instead of thrill. The multiple characters miss the cohesiveness of the first part as each character acts differently in its track. They pull the tale apart in different directions. It shouldn’t be a problem with a common goal, but that is where things get messy here.
The thrilling scenes are stretched and then ended on a pretty simple note with no wow factor. The comedy is alright, but it kind of diffuses the tension at key moments.
The other biggest issue is the narrative feels never-ending. It just goes on and on with one problem following another one. Again, this is fine, but with multiple characters facing the same issue, it feels like an overload.
The ending finally when it arrives is okay. But, the time it takes to reach that point and to get it across tests patience. It is essentially a problem theatrically.
Overall, Zebra offers an interesting premise, but a convoluted narrative spoils the fun. A decent first half is followed by a messy second one with overpacked thrills. Try it, if you don’t mind the length and financial crimes backdrop.
Performances by Others Actors
Dhananjay gets a powerful in Zebra. As mentioned previously, it is almost like a parallel role. He plays a ruthless gangster part which looks a little too heavy for the basic set-up. He gets a couple of moments to showcase the dramatic moments, as well, where he is fine.
Sunil gets a decent role after some gap in Telugu. It is the blend of quirkiness and different get up that many have been trying and failing. Here things are alright initially, and some moments work due to his act. However, the character turns irritating in the second half and loses impact by the end.
Sathyaraj gets a decent makeover, but his character doesn’t register in the end. He comes as part of the narrative and leaves and there is no impact whatsoever despite so much importance put on him.
Comedian Sathya, who is in the form of his life, shines as usual. The rest of the cast do adequately in the bits and pieces roles they get.
Music and Other Departments?
Ravi Basrus gives the music and background score for the film. The name rings a certain style and loudness in our minds. While the former is changed here, the latter remains the same despite the change in the sound. The cinematography is decent. The editing should have been better. The writing is okay. There are a lot of technical words thrown in at different times, which might be hard to follow for a normal audience.
Highlights?
Story
Some Thrilling Parts
Casting
Drawbacks?
Messy Narrative
Too Many Characters
Second Half
Hard To Follow At Times
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, In Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But To A Few Who don’t mind the Confusion And Chaos
Zebra Telugu Movie Review by M9
