Review: 9 Hours is adapted from Tommidi Gantalu, penned by Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy. Written by Krish and directed by Niranjan Kaushik and Jacob Varghese, the web-series takes you through a span of the titular nine hours, weaving a tightly wound narrative that keeps you engaged for the most part.
In 1985, few prisoners escape from prison and rob three branches of the same bank. In one of the banks, a simple heist soon turns complicated with the robbers forced to take the bankers and customers hostage. A short tempered police officer Pratap (Taraka Ratna) happens to be nearby when the situation escalates. What follows is chaos that no one could’ve predicted.
9 Hours boasts of a stellar cast featuring names like Ajay, Vinod Kumar, Madhu Shalini, Ravi Varma, Preethi Asrani, Ankith Koyya, Jwala Koti, Monica Reddy and others. Madhu Shalini plays a reporter called Chitralekha who has been assigned the story. She also happens to be Pratap’s estranged wife. As situations both inside and outside the bank worsen, with the series peeling back the layers episode by episode, you can’t help but feel intrigued.
The series has some strong moments as long as it’s focusing on the hostage situation and the people who are surprisingly connected to it. It doesn’t fare as well when it delves into back stories that don’t always leave you intrigued. The ways the characters are fleshed out are a delight though, because no one seems to be who they are. Even the robbers seem to have a softer side that no one seems to see. A plot point involving a widow and her harasser is pushed to the extent it can go to while a budding love story is left unfinished.
