Hit: The First Case Movie Review : Rajkummar Rao's skill gives crdibility to this dawdling crime mystery

Storyline: Haunted by flashes of a tragic past, HIT (Homicide Intervention Team) detective Vikram (Rajkummar Rao) is forced to keep his personal battles aside as two women go missing under mysterious circumstances. College girl Preeti disappears after her car breaks down on a Jaipur highway and Vikram’s girlfriend, forensic analyst Neha (Sanya Malhotra) is nowhere to be seen either.

Review: Vikram (Rajkummar Rao) is a panic attack-stricken brilliant detective who excels at work despite his recurring nightmares and PTSD. HIT doesn’t glorify its hero’s ordeal though. It’s brave enough to acknowledge him as ‘unfit’ for his investigative field job despite the talent. Rooted in pain, Vikram’s silent heroism and deductive reasoning skills keep you invested, if not on the edge of your seat.

Two years after Sailesh Kolanu made the Telugu original by the same name, he remakes his film in Hindi with different set of actors and location. Instead of Telangana, the police procedural now plays out in Rajasthan. Kolanu retains the character names, even the story except for an alteration in the climax. Given how quickly spoilers can get leaked for whodunits, this was an obvious modification. Vikram’s past trauma hasn’t been revealed here so expect more sequels to this story.

HIT evades stereotypes to a huge extent but also succumbs to it. A melodious love song for instance, has to be followed by something tragic happening to the lead actress. The treatment is no-nonsense and sincere but that doesn’t translate to a nail-biting, gritty thriller. The film is more of an unhurried, meandering crime mystery with an intriguing build-up but an unrewarding payoff. The tension mounts as we settle into Kolanu’s chaotic world. However, the story fails to tie up the loose ends and events leading to the big reveal don’t quite add up. With multiple suspects at play, the motive of the one guilty feels ludicrous and far-fetched. The puerile climax lets down the unpredictability established in the first half and the gay track is grossly misused.

 Rajkummar Rao lends gravitas to the dawdling crime mystery. He has the ability to elevate a scrambled script and he does that here as well.