- Date of Release: 01 May 2025
- Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
- Language: Telugu
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Hit: The Third Case
Introduction
The stakes in the new Telugu film HIT: The Third Case were already raised at the end of the second film of the franchise, HIT: The Second Case (2022). In its post credits, you are briefly introduced to the character of Arjun Sarkaar (played by Nani), that automatically promised the third film of the HIT franchise to be a significant update in terms of its scale. And that did bring a hint of hesitancy in me too – would the inclusion of a star override the tense world of the franchise? The answer here is more nuanced, rather than being straight forward. It definitely raises the bar for action in the Telugu Film Industry but in the process, also compromises in its writing. This is immediately evident in the first few reels of the film that don’t necessarily tag a conflict with the protagonist. If you remember in the previous two installments, the characterizations of the two protagonists – Vikram (Vishwak Sen) and Krishna (Adivi Sesh) had individual conflicts with respect to their past, something that automatically made them vulnerable individuals. So the cases that they were investigating, became more of an escapist form of holding their sanity together, in what felt like a personal quest to stay ‘awake’. But with Arjun Sarkaar, there is no such vulnerability in store.
Story & Screenplay
The characterization of Arjun Sarkaar is frustrating and rewarding, both at the same time. You are privy to his twisted side early on in the film when you see him murdering a man tied-up upsight down, and also recording the murder on his ipad. But other than this twisted side of his personality, Arjun is a one-tone angry young man with white streaks in his beard who remains unmarried, much to the annoyance of his father. The vulnerability of an individual that had previously added such grey shades to the characteristics of the previous protagonists in the franchise, is bartered for a star-presence that is more palatable for the masses. As a result, even the personal life of Arjun that includes a random meeting with Mrudula (Srinidhi Shetty in a better written role than in KGF; something that is evident later on in the film), is nothing more than a distraction before the main plot kicks in.
The events are steadily thrilling in the first hour, even as an extended flashback takes you on a PAN-India tour from the freezing bylanes of Srinagar in Kashmir, to the dusty bylanes pf Bihar. It is evident that the scale of the film is automatically raised with the inclusion of varied settings that add unique flavour to the proceedings. The external conflict (that now takes centerstage) is that of a mass killing with a same modus operandi taking place across different locations, and by different killers. This plot-point was engrossing but presented in a rather binary fashion as compared to the earlier installments of HIT, wherein the narrative was more layered. The change in the grammer of filmmaking is evident here, and this then remains a subjective form of criticism. For me personally, I really didn’t mind a fresh gig to the franchise but the conflict itself wasn’t strong enough to consistently hold my attention. Even the sensitive Kashmir conflict involving revolutionaries was reduced to a broad-stroke and meant for a serviceable plot-point rather than a significant building block.
The tropes of the thriller are familiar – a lead following the mass killings helping the cops involved, the rebellious protagonist not willing to follow the protocol and enrolling in the world of the dark web to track down the killers, the introduction of a cult having the motto of hate, to the ultimate cat and mouse chase that ensues. It is a typical chunk of the meat that you have been familiarized with, having consumed it day in and day out previously. And hence, the mystery element in the drama just doesn’t feel prominent enough to keep you on your toes. This, despite you being moderately invested in the proceedings.
The writing keeps getting linear even as the action shifts to a deep forest in Arunachal Pradesh although the location itself doesn’t necessarily add intrigue to the proceedings. What worked though in the film’s favour in the second hour was its focused narrative in the form of a Squid Game, with the task of the protagonist being to eliminate his opponents. I must however also point out that the antagonist here was so poorly sketched (and performed, something that I shall get to in a bit) with a skewed sense of purpose, that neither of it created a splash by any sort of imagination. What actually made a splash was the violence and gore that followed which was fun to witness. However (yes, that is how the drama is; more ifs and buts along the way), I still wanted the action to be more gory and violent like seen in films like Marco (2024) and Kill (2024) that have completely changed the grammer of the genre for films made in this country. If you are committing to an R-rated actioner, atleast go all out with it, don’t hold back! And by the end of things, I was decently happy (even with the twin surprise entries that brought the house down) but still felt a sense of void given the fact that I really wanted to like the film more than I actually did. The screenplay here is decent but most definitely a lesser product from the earlier installments of HIT.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are fiery and go well with the flared up mood of the drama. I also enjoyed the little meta-reference with respect to Nani’s career wherein a character exclaims on how he won’t succeed in a scene, to which he replies that that is what everyone used to say even at the start of his career. Loved that bit! The music is decent and makes its presence felt. The BGM is good too but I really wished that it could have further elevated the action set-pieces, a notch higher atleast. For me, the BGM was there and there abouts but didn’t hit the sweet-spot leaving a little more to be desired. The action choreography remains an interesting case study too – it excels in the single shot sequences with clean blows in scenes in the second hour, but the excessive cam-movement at the slightest of punches in the first hour was distracting (in a few scenes). I did think that the R-rated gore and violence needed to be further amped up in order to hit the sweet-spot. The cinematography is impressive particularly in frames that showcase different parts of the country. It definitely adds depth to the drama. The editing is decent in the partly choppy first hour, particularly in action set-pieces that shy away from the gore. But come the second hour, the intensity in the drama is definitely amped up by smoother scene transitions. The costume department deserves a raise too – Nani sporting a white jacket only to be bloodied in the second hour was a little representation of the character arc in itself. Director Sailesh Kolanu has definitely improved his skill-set as a direction, particularly in terms of the presentation and style quotient, something that is evident here. But, the barter is definitely in fan-service for some actual thrills in the narrative that significantly breaks the filmmaking grammer from the earlier installments of the franchise. In that regard, the characterization and crucial plot-points suffer, keeping the direction in a good space but never fully rising to its full potential.
Performances
The performances are largely good by the members of the cast. Here, I must say that I don’t like singling anyone out but Prateik Babbar as Alpha remains the weakest performer by a countrymile. In many scenes, you see him hamming away to glory, that reduces him to a caricature rather than an intimidating nemeais for the protagonist. It further didn’t help that his character was also written poorly with no clear motive, and most broad-stroked that failed to create the desired impact. Ravindra Vijay as Samuel, Amit Sharma as Jaipur killer, Samuthirakani, Maganthi Srinath as Abhilash and Adil Pala as Zubair, all have their moments to shine. Tisca Chopra as Krutika, Surya Srinivas as Ravi and Chaitu Jonnalagadd as Diwakar are competent while doing a sincere job. Likewise for Saqib Ayub and Mahesh Balraj who were first rate despite a limited screentime. Komalee Prasad as Varsha has a good screen presence in a job well done. Srinidhi Shetty as Mrudula is pretty impressive in a character that has a lot more meat than her character in KGF. She excels in combat sequences while maintaining the urgency in the drama.
But the show totally belongs to Natural Star Nani who yet again proves his versatility as a prolific performer. As Arjun Sarkaar, he is fierce and unhinged, bringing all his intensity to cater to his character. His personality remains commanding during fiercely dramatic moments, while brilliantly making a mark during combat sequences that were largely skill based. The range that a performer posssesses can be seen through his two works – Hi Nanna (2023) wherein he plays a vulnerable father without an iota of violence to Hit 3, wherein it is all violence and gore in the most brutal form. Nani is magnificent and definitely makes a splash here!
Conclusion
HIT: The Third Case aka HIT 3 is a decently thrilling but mildly wobbly drama anchored by an in-form Nani who ensures that it remains a satisfactory watch. It significantly departs from the filmmaking grammer of the previous HIT installments, bartering massy fan-service for vulnerability of its earlier protagonists, but in its process also compromises on the writing, thereby making it a decent affair but a couple of notches below the other films from the franchise. Available in a theatre near you.
