Hit: The First Case Movie Review: Vishwak Sen is terrific as the cop in this riveting thriller.

Cast: Vishwak Sen, Ruhani Sharma, and Murali Sharma

Directed By: Sailesh Kolanu

The film is centered on Vikram Rudraraju (Vishwak Sen), an intelligent and committed police officer, who is coping from post-traumatic stress and is advised to quit the force quite early on. Vikram has lost someone close, and the tragic incident triggers his panic attacks. After much contemplation, Vikram decides to take six months off from service but he promises to be available on the phone whenever required. 

Two months into his break, Vikram is called to inform that his longtime girlfriend Neha (Ruhani Sharma), who works as a forensic officer, is missing. Vikram returns to force and as he starts investigating the disappearance of Neha, he realizes that the case is eerily similar to the disappearance of a young girl called Preethi, who went missing recently. As Vikram tries to connect the link between the two cases while dealing with his panic attacks, we are sucked into a world of crime and suspects.

The mark of a well-made thriller lies in its ability to grab our attention and keep us invested throughout, and more importantly make us care for the key characters. Writer and debut director Dr. Sailesh Kolanu does that skilfully with HIT (Homicide Intervention Team), building a taut thriller that doesn’t lose momentum.

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The film doesn’t waste too much time on the crimes and its perpetrator; instead, it invests in its characters and effectively succeeds in building the mood and atmosphere. It’s well complemented by Vivek Sagar’s pulsating background score and the visuals of cinematographer Manikandan. Vishwak Sen is terrific in a role that’s easily his best so far in his career. As someone trying to cope with personal loss and fighting hard to stop another crime, he brings out the suffering and helplessness of his character convincingly. 

Vishwak Sen is in terrific form as Vikram Rudraraju. He maintains the intensity in his performance until the end. Ruhani Sharma fits the part quite well. Although she has very little screen time, she makes it count each time she appears on the screen. The rest of the cast fit in their respective roles quite well. 

In a film where there is so much to soak in, perhaps the only loose thread is its climax. This is the only element in the story that jolts you out of a terrific experience. It comes across like an odd fit from the rest of the story.

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Also Read: Forensic Movie Review: A decent crime thriller

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Cinematographer Manikandan keeps it real in terms of his choice of lighting and color palette, which accentuates the grim mood of the narrative. There is not a single frame that looks out of place or stylish just for the sake of it. Perhaps, it is meant to reflect Vikram’s state of mind because as tough as he might be, he also fears the worst each time. Even the romantic portions between Vishwak and Ruhani have a sepia tone to evoke a nostalgic feeling.

Vivek Sagar’s background score is outstanding. He fills the world of HIT with so much dread, with a unique composition of the soundtrack, it makes the whole film quite engrossing. And Garry, editor, deserves equal praise for maintaining the tempo of the narrative.

Finally, Nani deserves a pat for backing HIT, and willing to take risks and experiment. As an actor and star, he may like to play safe with his choices of films but he isn’t afraid to go against the grain as a producer. The film ends with a hit of a sequel in the pipeline, and I really wish it gets made, for HIT as all the qualities to become a franchise.