The web series ATM has been generating immense interest as Harish Shankar collaborated with Dil Raju. Harish Shankar provided the story while Chandra Mohan directed the series featuring Bigg Boss fame VJ Sunny and Divi Vadthya.ATM webseries is streaming from 20 January 2023 on ZEE5 and let us find out what impact ATM created on movie lovers.
ATM web series story is a game of survival for four friends who are petty thieves trapped in a robbery case and become the most wanted by the cops. ATM is all about money heists and is a crime thriller set in the backdrop of the slums of Musi River, Hyderabad. Jagan (VJ Sunny) and his friends (Krishna Burugula, Roeil Sree, Raviraj) vexed by poverty try to become rich turning into petty thieves. However, their lives turn upside down when a car with diamonds goes missing. To the top of it they are chased by cops. Where this leads to and how CI Umadevi (Divya Vani), Corporator Gajendra (30 yrs Prudhvi), encounter specialist Hegde (Subbaraju) are connected to it form the interesting aspect.
VJ. Sunny performed well in the role of Jagan. He looked natural and realistic as a poor guy who after seeing all the suffering and poverty, decides to make money at any cost. He came with the right expressions and emotions and his dialogue delivery is good. Subbaraju surprises in the role of an insomniac. Though the role of an insomniac is difficult, Subbaraju performed well.
30 Years Pruthvi performed the role of a politician and it is tailormade for him. He did such roles earlier and he tried to leave his mark with his timing and punches. Krishna Burugula, Roeil Sree, and Raviraj are ok in the roles of Sunny's friends. Divi Vadthya and Harshini got limited roles. Both however tried to attract the attention of all by doing liplocks.
Divya Vani appeared in the role of a police officer. People who are used to seeing Divya Vani in soft roles cannot accept her in this role. Even her performance fails to create any impact. Talented actor Shafi goes unrecognized while Ee Rojullu Sri Appaji and Ambarish appear now and then. Others performed accordingly.
ATM story written by Harish Shankar is four youngsters from the slums of Hyderabad, who rob for their livelihood. They get trapped in a high-profile case and are named the most-wanted accused. Where this leads to the main point of the story. Harish Shankar's webseries idea for this story is interesting. There are little a few interesting and logical scenes and screenplay. However, director Chandra Mohan has taken his own time in establishing the characters and the conflict point and this slowed the narration.
The webseries is of 8 episodes and the entire four episodes are spent highlighting the characters, their problems, and a few comedy scenes. But comedy scenes acted as speed breakers deviating from the main theme. Once the investigation starts with the entry of Subbaraju, the narration picks up pace. Finally, though the story is interesting, the screenplay and direction impacted the film in a big way with many repetitions and a slow pace, robbing viewers of the thrilling experience.
Mounik Kumar's cinematography is good. He made a good impact using smoke effect. Prashant R Vihari's background music is just ok. Editing left a lot to be desired as the first four episodes tested the patience of the viewers. Production values are neat.
Altogether, ATM Web Series is a story through which Harish Shankar planned to take viewers on a thrilling ride racing against time in the cat-and-mouse game including twists and turns. But much to the disappointment of all, despite getting all the creative liberty that he couldn't get on the big screen, Harish Shankar turned the webseries into a tedious watch. It offered nothing new and bereft of twists and turns, dragged at a snail's pace, wasting the time of the viewers. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 Rating for ATM web series.