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 mould by building up a mysterious story around a series of special operations, inhumane events, and twists to sensitise their point. While a few try to deliver on some of these points, 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. It was a difficult condition and his therapist advises him to quit his job to recover from these medical complications. But Vikram doesn’t budge and takes full responsibility to deal with the conflict. He has a dubious past as a girl (maybe his sister) was brutally killed infront of him. The violence haunts him every time he suffers a panic attack.
He learns that a college student, Preethi goes missing and he decides to take up the case to find her whereabouts. 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 trying to unravel the truth behind these twin kidnaps even after he was 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 shaken and inconsistent akin to that of mixing oil in a glass of water. The film hits the ground running, never spoon-feeding you with background information, which you desperately want to know. 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 an 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. However, I liked the way Sailesh etched Vikram’s character, which becomes restless at the mere sight of fire. While the past isn’t revealed entirely, the flashes of incidents show us 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 interesting 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 is its actors, who are committed to their characters. Vishwak is reliably solid each time he’s on screen. He is uninhibited, spontaneous and holds the screen like a pro. Ruhani Sharma has a little screen time, but she leaves her mark well.
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. The film ends with a hint of a sequel and we wish the director doesn’t miss a beat next time. Overall, Hit is a script with immense potential that missed the punch due to sluggish execution and underwhelming climax. If you do, watch it with an open mind.
| Film: Hit Cast: Vishwak Sen, Ruhani Sharma, Hari Teja Director: Dr Sailesh Kolanu Rating: 2.5/5 |