Movie: HIT: The First Case
Director: Sailesh Kolanu
Cast: Rajkumar Rao, Sanya Malhotra, Shilpa Shukla and Sanjay Narvekar
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Dil Raju, Kuldeep Rathore, and Bhaumik Gondaliya
Music Director: John Stewart Eduri (Background Score), Mithoon and Manan Bharadwaj (Songs)
Cinematography: S. Manikandan
Editor: Garry BH
6.5
The IBC News Rating
2020 Telugu film HIT: The First Case is now remade in Hindi with the same title. Sailesh Kolanu, who directed the original, also helmed this remake. Rajkumar Rao and Sanya Malhotra played the lead roles in it. The movie has hit the screens today, and let us check out how it is:
Story:
Vikram (Rajkumar Rao) is a tough and honest cop who is suffering from PTSD. He happens to take up a kidnapping case. In the process, his wife Neha (Sanya Malhotra) goes missing. He then realizes that it is not a normal kidnapping case, and there is much more behind it. How he unravels the mystery forms the major crux of the movie.
What’s Entertaining & What’s Boring:
HIT is a slow-burning investigative thriller. The way the director sets up the story and puts various missing dots in front of the protagonist keeps audiences hooked to their seats. Even the viewers keep guessing who is behind the kidnap. All the investigative scenes are well shot and engage the audience in the story.
Once the mystery is getting solved, audiences can guess what is going to be the final twist and who will be the culprit. In a whodunit thriller, a viewer should not be allowed to guess the culprit until the end. As it happens very early in the second half of HIT, the later proceedings will be boring.
Performance of Cast & Crew :
Rajkumar Rao gave a nuanced performance as a cop. He is not loud. He is tough but soft-spoken in nature. The way he balanced the character undergoing mental trauma and investigating a kidnapping case is spectacular. Though Sanya Malhotra got a not-very-meaty role, she was good in her scenes. Rest others performed within their character limitations.
Director Sailesh Kolanu is directing the same film for the second time so he tried not to repeat mistakes that were done in the Telugu version. However, there are some issues with the screenplay in the remake as well, which could have been rectified. The cinematography by Manikandan is excellent and so is the background score. The production values are great as well.
First Half & Second Half:
In the first half of HIT, the director sets up the tone and gets into the story without wasting any time. We are introduced into the guessing game pretty early and the momentum is carried till the interval. Thus, the first half is engaging.
Things become predictable in the second half though. One can guess the final twist half an hour before the climax. Thus, the latter half will bore the audience to some extent.
Impressive:
Rajkumar Rao’s performance
First half
Background score
Unimpressive:
Predictable second half
A lame twist in the end
Lack of engaging screenplay throughout the film
‘The IBC News’ take on HIT: The First Case:
These days, we are able to watch stunning thrillers on OTT platforms. In such an age, HIT becomes a bland thriller. Though it had the potential to become a great investigative thriller, the writing was not up to the mark. Also, it will not appeal to the viewers who watched the original in theatres or OTT arenas. People who didn’t watch the original can give it a try with minimal expectations.
One-Line Review:
HIT in parts; Mis-HIT in most of the part
