HIT3 Movie Review

After delivering three successful back-to-back films (e.g., Dasara, Hi Nanna, and Saripodhaa Sanivaaram), Nani teamed up with the director Sailesh Kolanu for the third instalment of the HIT (Homicide Intervention Team) franchise. After generating good buzz with the promotional content, the film was released in theatres today. Did Nani deliver his fourth successful film in a row? Did the director Sailesh Kolanu bounce back from Saindhav’s setback? More importantly, did the franchise film’s recent success at the box office continue with HIT3 as well? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Just like the first two films in the HIT franchise, the third film also deals with a crime investigation. Arjun Sakaar(Nani), a hot-headed & ruthless police officer in the Homicide Intervention Team in Jammu & Kashmir starts investigating a gruesome murder case along with his team. During the investigation, he and his team come across multiple murders of similar patterns across the country. Who is behind these murders? What is the motive of the murderers to kill innocent people across the country? How did Arjun Sarkaar and his team investigate the case & find the culprits? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Nani as Arjun Sakaar is simply superb. In the role of a police officer with anger issues, he delivered a very commendable performance. His ability to generate laughs even with very serious dialogues and his effortless performance was on full display in the film. It is safe to say that he pulled off the film on his shoulders. It is certainly a treat for his fans who wants to see him in a mass roles.

Srinidhi Shetty in the role of Mrudula was decent in her role. There was a twist involved in her role but overall, her role’s romantic track with Arjun Sarkaar acted as a speedbreaker in the film. Prateik Babbar in the role of antagonist did an ok job. His performance lacked the desired shock factor. But to be fair to him, it is the fault of the writer who did not come up with a powerful characterization of the antagonist role.

Rao Ramesh as the head of the HIT team in Vizag made his presence felt. There is not much scope for him to showcase his acting prowess. Samuthirakani in the role of the father to Arjun Sarkaar did a good job. He generated good laughs in two to three sequences.

There are a couple of surprising cameos in the film. Both the actors made their presence felt and drew huge cheers from the audience when they appeared on screen.

Technicalities:

Mickey J. Meyer’s background score is a mixed bag. He did a good job in the second half but his background score in the first half would have been better. Karthika Srinivas’s editing would have been better. At least fifteen minutes of trimming, especially in the romantic track and during the lengthy action block in the second half would have made the film very engaging.

Sanu Varghese’s cinematography is commendable. The way he captured the picturesque locales of Jammu & Kashmir is very good. Also, his camera work especially in the second half deserves a special mention. Production values of Wall Poster Cinema and Unanimous Productions are good. The producers spent enough money which was visible on screen.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Nani’s Terrific Performance
2.⁠ ⁠Two Surprise Cameos
3.⁠ ⁠Background Score In The Second Half
4.⁠ ⁠Pre-Climax Action Sequence
5.⁠ ⁠Pre-Interval Portions In Jaipur

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Romantic Track & Songs
2.⁠ ⁠Weak Antagonist Characterisation
3.⁠ ⁠Background Score In The First Half
4.⁠ ⁠Editing
5.⁠ ⁠Slow Pace In The First Half

Analysis:

The Writer and director Sailesh Kolanu did the first two films in the HIT franchise with a very tight screenplay, strong supporting characters and effective characterization for the lead actors. He focused more on storytelling without deviating from the script in the first two parts of the franchise. Part three of the franchise, HIT3 also has a good premise but this time the director focused more on elevating the lead actor at regular intervals and did only half satisfactory work when it comes to narrating the story with a very tight screenplay.

What worked in the favour of the film was Arjun Sarkaar’s characterization and the way Nani performed the role. Credit to Sailesh Kolanu for designing such an aggressive role and for writing crowd-pleasing dialogues for Nani’s role. There were quite a few moments in the film that will be liked by the fans of Nani and youth. Sailesh deserves a special mention for the way he designed a few adrenaline-pumping moments during the pre-climax action sequence. Another thing that worked in the favour of the film is the background score in the second half, especially during the pre-climax action sequence. Watch out for a couple of surprise cameos from two notable stars. Rightly so, the entire theatre reverberated with loud cheers and screams when both actors appeared on the screen.

On the flipside, there were quite a few violent and disturbing sequences throughout the film. Yes, the film is given an ‘A’ certificate by the censor but a section of adults may find a few sequences extremely disturbing and get uncomfortable with the literal and liberal usage of cuss words in multiple languages(i.e. Telugu, Hindi & English). Another major drawback in the film is the weak characterization of the antagonist. He never looked powerful and menacing and did not challenge the protagonist enough. Also, the writer in Sailesh was heavily inspired by the Netflix global hit web series, Squid Game in the second half. The action blocks and the games played by the antagonist and his group give a feel of deja vu if you watched Squid Game already.

Overall, HIT3 is a decently engaging investigative thriller that can be watched in theatres for Nani’s terrific performance, and a few very well-executed sequences. A bit more effort in writing and at least fifteen minutes of trimming would have made the film very engaging.

Bottomline: ‘Sarkaar’ Shines

Rating – 2.75/5