HIT: The First Case

HIT: The First Case is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language mystery-thriller film directed by debutant Sailesh Kolanu and produced by Nani and Prashanti Tipirneni. It features Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma in the lead roles. The film was a profitable venture at the box office.[2]

HIT: The First Case
Directed by	Sailesh Kolanu
Produced by	Nani Prashanti Tipirneni
Written by	Sailesh Kolanu
Starring	Vishwak Sen Ruhani Sharma
Music by	Vivek Sagar
Cinematography	S. Manikandan
Edited by	Garry BH
Production company	Wall Poster Cinema
Release date	28 February 2020
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹6 crore[1]
Box office	est.₹8.5 crore (opening weekend)[1]

Plot

Vikram Rudraju (Vishwak Sen) is a police officer in the Crime Investigation Department and works in the Homicide Intervention Team "HIT". He is very smart and sharp and solves crucial cases with his ability to capture even the smallest of details, thus earning the trust of his senior Viswanath (Bhanu Chander). He is in love with Neha (Ruhani Sharma), his colleague and a forensic official. Rohit (Chaitanya Sagiraju) is Vikram's close friend and his colleague, who accompanies him in most of his cases. Vikram is constantly in argument with Abhilash (Maganti Srinath), another officer, who crosses lines with Vikram. Vikram occasionally suffers from PTSD due to his past experience and refuses to take pills as he believes it slows down his abilities.

Meanwhile, a girl named Preethi (Sahiti) is driving on the highway and her car stops to the side because it suffers a malfunction. Officer Ibrahim (Murali Sharma), stops to help her and she calls her father since she forgets her phone at her home. When her father comes to pick her up, he sees that she has gone missing and Ibrahim says that she got into a blue car and he thought it was his car. Viswanath decides to suspend Ibrahim since he does not believe him.

Vikram decides to take a six month break to relieve his PTSD attacks. After two months, Vikram gets a call that Neha goes missing. He decides to go back to Viswanath and ask for the case file for Neha going missing but he says Abhilash is dealing with the case and he cannot give it to him. Vikram decides to ask Shinde (Brahmaji), who is Neha's colleague, about the cases Neha has dealt with the past two months. Vikram and Rohit connect Preethi's and Neha's missing case and deduce that the same person is involved in both cases. Vikram decides to investigate and he asks Srinivas (Ravi Varma) for Preethi's case and he takes over the case. Meanwhile, Abhilash has suspicions that Vikram was the one who kidnapped Neha. Vikram decides to go to Preethi's college and he asks Ajay (Trish) and Sandya (Jayatri) about what happened the previous night and they say the same response how they were at a pub. Vikram and Rohit ask both Preethi's parents and they say that her parents died in a plane crash and she was living with them and Preethi's neighbor Sheela (Hari Teja) about her. Vikram and Rohit start deducing the case and they come to a conclusion that Sheela kidnapped Preethi after they see Sheela's blue car and a note forged by Sheela indicating the whereabouts of Preethi’s corpse.

Ibrahim then sees the car and says that Sheela was not the one who kidnapped Preethi. Vikram and his team dig up the body behind the house and find that it is unnoticeable and it has a few DNA samples on it. Vikram suspects Ajay because he said that Preethi was his girlfriend. Vikram using the toll gate security cameras he deduces that the man who kidnapped was Fahad (Ravi Raja). After Vikram, Abhilash, and Ibrahim find Fahad, Ibrahim is shot dead by Fahad while Vikram and Abhilash capture him. Fahad takes them to the house where he received the money to kidnap Preethi. Vikram finds out that it was Rohit's house and before Rohit shoots him, he shoots him dead. Rohit's wife Swapna (Naveena Reddy) comes down while Abhilash goes upstairs and gets Neha. Swapna explains how Preethi, Swapna, and her sister were orphans and how someone comes to adopt one of them. Preethi decides to go with the family while Swapna's sister dies due to a hole in her heart and she blames Preethi for it. Swapna then sees Preethi in a club and gets her kidnapped. She then kills Preethi and has Rohit bury her and plant DNA evidences. Swapna gets arrested.

In the closing scene, While Neha and Vikram are talking, Vikram almost gets shot. HIT: The Second Case is hinted afterwards for release in 2021.

Cast

• Vishwak Sen as Vikram Rudraju
• Ruhani Sharma as Neha
• Chaitanya Sagiraju as Rohit
• Brahmaji as R. Shinde
• Hari Teja as Sheela
• Murali Sharma as Ibrahim
• Bhanu Chander as Vishwanath. K
• Naveena Reddy as Swapna
  • Dhanvi as Young Swapna
• Ravi Raja as Fahad
• Sahiti as Preethi
  • Vanshika as Young Preethi
• Ravi Varma as Srinivas
• Maganti Srinath as Abhilash
• Rangadham as Mohan
• Roopa Lakshmi as Lakshmi
• Rajeshwari as Latha
• Kalpika as Roopa
• Kalpalatha as Saraswati
• Trish as Ajay
• Jayatri as Sandya
• Satya Krishnan as Priya
• Sri Harsha as Shiva

Production

On 24 October 2019, the film's ceremonial pooja was held and production for the film commenced. Nani and Prashanti Tipirneni produced the film under "Wall Poster Cinema" banner. This film is their second venture after Awe.[3] A teaser was launched on 1 January, 2020.[4] The film's title is an acronym for "Homicide Intervention Team".[5]

Soundtrack

HIT: The First Case
Film score by Vivek Sagar
Released	2020
Recorded	2020
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Producer	Vivek Sagar
Vivek Sagar chronology
Brochevarevarura (2019) HIT: The First Case (2020) Raja Raja Chora (TBA)

The songs were composed by Vivek Sagar. The singles "Poraatame" and "Ventaade Gaayam" were released on February 25th and February 26th, respectively.[6][7]

All lyrics are written by Krishna Kanth.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Poraatame"	David Simon	4:14
2.	"Ventaade Gaayam"	Mohana Bhogaraju	3:32
Total length:			7:46

Home media

The movie was released on Prime Video on 1 April 2020, while the satellite rights were purchased by Gemini TV.[8]

Critical reception

The Hindu gave the film a positive review praising the screenplay and the performances of the cast.[5] The Deccan Chronicle gave the film three out of five stars and wrote that "Vishwak Sen’s brilliant performance and Vivek Sagar’s background music mark this film".[9] Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost rated the film 3.25 stars out of 5, saying,"If you love crime dramas, HIT is a thrilling experience, which falters a bit in the end."[10] Janani K of India Today said, "Director Sailesh Kolanu's HIT is a brilliant investigation thriller that will blow your mind right from the beginning."[11] Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India said, "HIT is definitely not a film that will keep you on the edge of the seat, but it keeps you engaged enough to know more."[12] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "In this whodunit, directed by Sailesh Kolanu, the sophistication in filmmaking is matched by a sophisticated worldview. But it needed a better closing stretch."[13]

Legacy

A sequel and a Hindi remake directed by Sailesh Kolanu starring Rajkummar Rao are in development.[14]

References

1. "Hit movie 3-day box office collection: Vishwak Sen assures to score a hit in first weekend". International Business Times. 2 March 2020.
2. "'HIT' Box-Office: Vishwak Sen's crime-thriller enters into profits in the first week itself". The Times of India. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
3. Nyayapati, Neeshita (24 October 2019). "Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma's next titled 'Hit'". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
4. "Watch | Teaser of Vishwak Sen-starrer 'Hit' is out". The Hindu. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
5. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (28 February 2020). "'HIT' movie review: This Vishwak Sen-starrer hits close to the bull's eye". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
6. "Poraatame from Vishwak Sen's HIT released - Times of India". The Times of India.
7. "Ventaade Gaayam from HIT released - Times of India". The Times of India.
8. "Hit (The First Case)". Amazon. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
9. Kavirayani, Suresh (3 March 2020). "Hit movie review: An engaging thriller!". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
10. Kumar, Hemanth (28 February 2020). "HIT movie review: Vishwak Sen stands out in an engaging suspense thriller; Sailesh Kolanu makes promising debut". Firstpost. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
11. Janani K. (28 February 2020). "HIT Movie Review: Vishwak Sen's investigative thriller is a hit". India Today. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
12. Nyayapati, Neeshita (28 February 2020). "Hit: The First Case Movie Review : A film worth watching, especially if you're a fan of crime dramas". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
13. "HIT, With Vishwak Sen And Ruhani Sharma, Is On Amazon Prime: A Rewind Of This Classy Investigative Thriller". FilmCompanion. 1 April 2020.
14. Varma, Lipika (20 July 2020). "Telugu thriller Hit set to be remade in Hindi". Deccan Chronicle.

External links

• HIT: The First Case at IMDb