Hit Movie Review: Fails to pack a punch

Hit Movie Review: Fails to pack a punch

A script with immense potential that misses the mark due to sluggish execution and an underwhelming climax
Rating:(2.5 / 5)

The best way to gauge a thriller is to ask yourself how much you are invested in the story and its characters. Many directors invariably stick to a template of building up a mysterious story around a series of special operations, inhumane events, and twists. While a few deliver with this mould, others fail to pack a punch. Vishwak Sen’s Hit falls in the second category.

Vikram Rudraraju (Vishwak Sen) is an intelligent and sincere officer, who works for HIT (Homicide Intervention Team). He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the pressures at work give him repeated panic attacks. In his past, a girl (maybe his sister) was brutally killed before his eyes. The violence haunts him every time he suffers a panic attack. It is a difficult condition and his therapist advises him to quit his job to recover from these medical complications. But Vikram doesn't budge.

Cast: Vishwak Sen, Ruhani Sharma, Hari Teja
Direction: Dr Sailesh Kolanu

He learns that a college student, Preethi, has gone missing and decides to find her. Out of the blue, a kidnap happens again and the case is strikingly similar to that of Preethi's. Vikram stumbles upon a lead and goes on his own mission to unravel the truth behind these twin kidnaps even after he is advised against taking things into his hands. The rest is all about how Vikram seeks closure in these cases.

Director Dr Sailesh Kolanu might have had an ambitious script, yet the narrative appears shaky and inconsistent. The film hits the ground running, never spoon-feeding you with background information, though you desperately want to know it. Sailesh takes his own sweet time to make his point and establish the characters. He creates situations that are gloomy in a raw setup and chooses to unravel them at the opportune moment. But all this flexing barely drums up excitement as the director squanders his potential with his unforgivably lazy and amateurish approach to the narrative.

I did, however, like the way the director has etched Vikram's character, which becomes restless at a mere sight of fire. While the past isn't revealed entirely, the flashes of incidents show why he conveys a sense of urgency, pain, and frustration in his every move.

While the first hour sets up the drama nicely, the second half gets weighed down by Vikram's dreary attempts to find the truth once Sheela (Hari Teja) enters the fray. The interrogation scenes go nowhere and they leave too many logical steps unanswered. This routine is repeated over and over again well before the big twist is ultimately revealed in the film’s climax, leaving us shockingly disappointed.

What helps Hit are its actors, who are all committed to their characters. Vishwak Sen is reliably solid each time he’s on screen. The makers have found the right man for the job. He is uninhibited, spontaneous, and holds the screen like a pro. Ruhani Sharma has little screen time, but she leaves her mark. Brahmaji and Bhanuchandar lend credibility to their characters. Compared to her previous outings, Hit is definitely that one film Hari Teja can brag about. She delivers a convincing performance in a role that is right up her alley.

Vivek Sagar’s background music provides some momentum to the narrative, which ends with the hint of a sequel. It's to be hoped the director doesn't miss a beat next time because overall, Hit is a script with immense potential that misses the mark due to sluggish execution and an underwhelming climax. 

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