Hit

I saw this more than a year ago on Amazon Prime.

Planning to watch its sequel n that's y put up a review now.

I saw the Telugu version n skipped the Hindi version.

A cop with a troubled past n suffering from panic attacks, is tasked with investigating the missing case of an eighteen year girl.

The case gets even more complicated n personal when the cop's girlfriend too goes missing.

As the clock is ticking n pressure builds up from all angles, the cop unearths a shattering mystery which leads upto to a shocking twist.

The lead actor Vishwak Sen gave a brilliant performance and the background music is heart pounding n the editing is crispy.

Murli Sharma as Ibrahim, a local cop gave a memorable performance n his character will stay with u.

Dr. Sailesh Kolanu clearly intends for HIT to turn into a franchise, and it's made clear from the get-go when he seems to be in no hurry to reveal anything much about his characters. Crime dramas are a genre that are hard to pull off and to the director's credit, he manages to do it well with minimal drawbacks. What's amazing is how the viewer is pushed into the world Vikram inhabits from the word go, especially when it's one that's suffocating and filled with so much pain.

A girl goes missing at Outer Ring Road and her parents are worried out of their mind. The last person to see her is a cop (Murli Sharma) who had left her at the place she was last seen after she assures him that help is arriving. Another cop, Vikram (Vishwak Sen), is on a much-needed leave, trying to cope with the pain in his life, when he receives a distressing call. How Vikram embroils himself in the case of the missing girl, and what does it have to do with the call he received makes up the tale.

Vikram works for the HIT department against his therapist and girlfriend Neha's (Ruhani Sharma) wishes. Due to the nature of his job, he's prone to massive panic attacks that cause him to black out sometimes, be paranoid that his suspects will escape his grasp whenever they're out of his view and fire in any shape, view or form, seems to be a massive trigger. It's clear he's in pain due to a past trauma, which is why his shabby appearance and short-temperedness is tolerated even by his superiors. And while he has a keen sense of smell and deduction skills that make him good at his job, the question remains throughout the film, if his shortcomings will ever let him solve cases in peace.

The director does a good job of letting us know enough about Vikram's trauma to care and stay invested throughout the film. His love for Neha and the pain deeply embedded in him are shown in bits and pieces, via flashes of his memories. And this narrative is a particularly bold choice, seeing as how it's not something that might sit well with all viewers. But the film takes its own sweet time delivering the conclusion and while it's laudable that it is not something you can guess, the way the climax is hurried through doesn't really work. But the less said about the plot the better, it's something that needs to be watched on-screen.

Apart from director Sailesh, Vivek Sagar, S Mani Kandan and Garry BH should be lauded for doing a stupendous job with setting up the environment Vikram inhabits. The music, cinematography and editing stay true to the genre; bringing through the pain, suffocation and desperation through the sound and visuals. The detailing is spectacular, so are the way some scenes are shot, with subtlety without being too on-the-nose. The film also breaks stereotypes in the most subtle of ways.

Vishwak Sen's performance on the other hand doesn't always leave the intended impact. His dialogue delivery, especially ones with scenes featuring Ruhani, seems off. But he nails the scenes where he's being sarcastic and funny -when he's calling out a professor for moral policing, in particular. His acting too wavers, seeming off in certain scenes, while he just nails it in other ones, and there just seems to be no in-between when it comes to it. Ruhani Sharma is surprisingly plain okay in the few scenes she has, while Hari Teja shines. Murli Sharma does well with what he's offered.

HIT is definitely not a film that will keep you on the edge of the seat, but it keeps you engaged enough to know more. With a tighter narrative, better direction and performances, this truly could've been something else. But that's not to say, that the film doesn't work, because it does, especially with the massive cliff-hanger at the end promising a sequel worth watching.

HIT : The First Case (2020) - Brief Review :

An extended episode of the CID series with a few loops here and there, but is worth your watch. When I used to watch the CID serial in my childhood, I used to love that suspense. But now that I've seen over a thousand classics from around the world, I've realised how common all of the CID stuff was. You start with one missing case and then get forensics, friends, and family members involved in it, only to learn more thrilling facts later. At the end, it's some close friends whom you never suspected. HIT is a perfect extended episode of this CID formula, but not completely flawless. An officer of the 'Homicide Intervention Team' who frequently suffers from panic attacks does everything in his power to rescue a woman who went missing. An 18-year-old girl is missing, but nobody really cares because it has got nothing to do with our protagonist. Then, after two months, his GF disappears, and he gets involved in both the cases, mainly to find his GF. Several surprising revelations come to rescue this mystery thriller from multiple old cliches. It still makes for a good, definite watch for you. Let me tell you a couple of those typical loops. A hero must have a competitor and a jealous colleague, no matter if he hasn't got anything to do with the storyline. Two, the best one I suppose, the villain/side villain, can easily kill a supporting character from a long distance, but he would never kill the hero, even if he's close to him. HIT has those gone-dated cliches that might irritate you - if you have seen a lot of global cinema. For regional or, to some extent, Indian audiences, it won't make much difference. Some of the dialogues, scenes, and action scenes are shot childishly, but otherwise it's a fine film throughout. Overall, a nice, engaging thriller with decent performances, good writing and fine direction. Let's see how the Hindi remake turns out to be.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

After a long time a dark thriller had been out in the Telugu film industry. The director had perfectly crafted out the story for the opening of intense thriller universe. He didn't manipulate things too much. Entire screenplay was gripping and also with less manipulations of story. There wasn't a feel of confusion and all I felt was thrill. Even the actors gave out their best performances. Overall a must watch movie

Perfect in every department but the story was not enough for 2hrs, movie is good but not great, vishwak steals the show with his performance and Vivek Sagar is a life saviour