 "HIT 3 movie review: Nani starrer massy survival-thriller is violent, gory & gripping")
Star cast: Nani, Srinidhi Shetty, Adil Pala, Rao Ramesh, Brahmaji and Maganti Srinath
Director: Sailesh Kolanu
The first two parts of the HIT universe have been gripping and undoubtedly score high because of its storytelling. Well, HIT 3 or HIT: The Third Case featuring ‘Natural Star’ promises to take the universe to a notch higher. While the trailer looked massy at its core, let’s find out whether it has impressed the cinegoers or not.
The opening sequence starts with a police function where SP Dhanya Mohan is getting honour posthumously for her bravery while at the same time, SP Arjun Sarkaar of HIT (Homicide Intervention Team) is going to jail.
As he enters the jail, one of the prisoners tries to kill Arjun but another one stops him. He gives him a knife for protection and asks him the reason for coming to jail.
Cut to, SP Arjun tying a person upside down in the middle of a deserted forest above the river or lake and killing him mercilessly by cutting his neck and removing three parts of the body. On the same day, he joins Vizag Police Station as SP.
Interestingly, his team gets the information about the murder in the forest and he reaches them to investigate. As they don’t find any traces or pieces of evidence, Arjun tells his team to continue the investigation.
Coming to his personal life, Arjun is a no-nonsense person, who doesn’t smile, gets angry easily and has anxiety issues. He doesn’t share a good bond with his father (Samuthirakani) because he left him to his grandfather after his mother’s demise for the duty.
He gets rejected by several girls during the first meet after connecting on the dating sites due to his judgemental questions and rude behaviour. However, when Mrudula (Srinidhi Shetty) comes to meet him near his office, he is shocked as she tells him that they had a conversation on the matrimony site. He quickly realizes that his father has made his profile on the site and chatted with her. Arjun confesses this thing to Mrudula but she falls for honesty and they start falling for each other.
On the next day, Arjun gets ready to kill a person in the forest with the same pattern but is attacked by one of her subordinates Varsha. She tells him that right from the time when they reached the crime scene of the earlier murder, she had a doubt on him and that’s why kept a tap on him.
However, Arjun ties Varsha, makes his second killing and reveals that the two persons, whom he murdered are criminals and not innocent civilians. He then narrates a flashback story of a few years back, during his posting in Jammu & Kashmir, he comes across a murder with the same pattern as a neck is cut and three parts of the body, which cannot be used for transplantation and are used for hormones secretion.
While he catches the culprit with his strategy, in the fight he also injures other attackers. His senior (Tisca Chopra) says that out of the other 5 people, who are severely injured two are Kashmiri activists and because of that there is a protest against Arjun.
While one murderer is under captive, a murder with the same pattern takes place in Bihar and the culprit is behind bars. Arjun goes to Bihar and brings the murderer to Srinagar. He brings both murderers face-to-face and tries to remove information.
As one of the murderers dies because of suicide and one of the Kashmiri activists succumb to injuries, Arjun gets transferred to Vizag. After understanding everything, Varsha now wants to help Arjun in getting to know the motive of dark web CKT (Capture, Kill, Torture), who are giving these killing patterns and the mastermind behind it.
Sailesh Kolanu’s directorial HIT 3 is gripping right from its first frame as something is happening every moment. The film will keep you at the edge of your seat with its compelling narrative and slick storytelling. Despite being a massy survival thriller, the solid twists and turns will surprise you and enhance your musical experience. The action pieces are raw and violent and will remind you of Marco, Animal and _Salaar_ . The film deserves brownie points for its superb camera work by Sanu John Varghese.
Talking about the performances, Nani carries the role of Arjun Sarkaar with his suave charm, swag and charisma. Right from his small nuances to his action-packed avatar, the ‘Natural Star’ has ruled every frame. Prateik Babbar as Alpha is menacing while Mradula ignites the screen with her innocent and luminous presence.
In the epic climax, the surprising cameos will make you cheer, whistle and shout. On the whole, HIT 3 is a massy entertainer, which should be watched on the big screen.
Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)
HIT 3 is playing in cinemas
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