Zebra Story

Surya (Satyadev) is a bank employee in a relationship with Swathi, who works at another bank. One day, Swathi makes a serious mistake by accidentally transferring a massive amount of money to a customer. To resolve the issue, Surya steps in and commits a white-collar crime. However, this act by Swathi and Surya lands them in serious trouble with a goon named Aadi (Dhananjaya). The couple is now left with no choice but to pay the goon a sum of ₹5 crores to get out of the mess. How the couple handles this challenging situation forms the crux of the story.

Zebra Review

Zebra is written and directed by Easvar Karthik, a former bank employee himself. This background is one of the reasons he chose to explore the subject of bank fraud. The story revolves around two bank employees who are a couple. Zebra starts on a very entertaining note. The heroine makes a mistake, and the hero tries to help her by taking the wrong route. This is well showcased by the director. The way this bank fraud connects to a local don is also effectively handled.

However, there are many scenes in Zebra that seem unnecessary. The director decided to make the screenplay more interesting by adding several subplots, but this backfires and makes the film feel boring. There was no need for such a complex screenplay, but Karthik includes it and falters in several areas. He reveals all his cards during the interval, setting up for a strong second half, but this is where things fall flat, as the screenplay becomes dull.

The villain's track is underdeveloped. Although Dhananjaya performs well and dominates Satyadev in many scenes, his impact is not fully realized, which is one of the major drawbacks. The twists and turns are intriguing on paper, but they are only introduced in limited areas. If the screenplay had been more structured, with twists revealed at regular intervals, the outcome would have been much better.

As the film is based on bank fraud, the audience looks for logical consistency. However, director Easvar takes too many cinematic liberties, especially in the second half, which undermines the film’s credibility. How Satyadev handles the banking deals feels exaggerated.

Regarding performances, Satyadev returns with a strong performance as Surya. His role provides ample scope to showcase his acting talent, and he delivers well for the most part. However, it’s Dhananjaya who steals the show. Despite his track having issues, Dhananjaya gives a solid performance and leaves the audience wanting more.

Priya Bhavani Shankar is perfect in her role and does justice to her character. Comedian Satya plays a good role and brings in some enjoyable comedy. Sunil’s performances have become repetitive, while Satyaraj is solid in a supporting role. The rest of the cast is good.

Ravi Basrur composed the music, but none of the songs are particularly memorable. His background score is not as impactful as in his recent films. A few portions of the second half feature solid BGM, but overall, it falls short. The production values are top-notch, but the editing is disappointing.

Also, there was no need for the director to have such a long runtime. Zebra could benefit from serious editing, cutting around fifteen minutes. The subplots and filler scenes disrupt the film’s flow. Telugu cinema needs to move away from including songs in thrillers.

If narrated in a simpler, crisper manner, films like Zebra could make much more sense and be enjoyable. Unfortunately, that does not happen here, as Zebra only offers a few impressive moments, mostly due to Satyadev's sincere performance.

Zebra Verdict

On the whole, Zebra has a solid backdrop and contemporary theme. It starts on a solid note and has decent thrills. But the lengthy runtime, complex screenplay, and logical issues go against the film and make it just a strictly okay watch.

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