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HIT Review: Vishwak Sen Blazes in One of the Best Telugu Whodunits

HIT releases today. 

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Hit

Vishwak Sen Blazes in One of the Best Telugu Whodunits

HIT, directed by Sailesh Kolanu and starring Vishwak Sen, Ruhani Sharma and Murli Sharma is taut, relentless and intelligent. Vivek Sagar’s music gives it a film noir feel that’s hard to shake off till hours after the film. Actor Nani, who turns producer for this film bet on the right detective movie.

Vishwak Sen Delivers

Vikram, played by Vishwak Sen, is a detective on the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT). He goes through the entire gamut of forensics, hunches, chases and frustrating delays. There are no bells and whistles to these sequences. No OTT graphics or stylised montages. Everything, from collecting blood and DNA samples, to a polygraph test, is matter-of-fact. You are not in awe of the technology, nor blown away by the science. But the sheer magnitude of work involved in an investigation hits you. There’s an army at work, and it is Vikram who drives it and gives it impetus and direction.

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As Vikram goes deeper into the labyrinth of clues, his post-traumatic stress bubbles to the surface. Vishwak Sen’s nervous energy - which was in full display in Falaknuma Das - binds the audience to his journey, and equally, to his disturbing past.

The Detective in You

The thing about murder mysteries or thriller films is that they stoke the investigator in you, the audience. But unlike the detective on screen, you don’t look for clues. What you keep your eyes peeled for, are cracks in the plot, lapses in building the suspense. And, loose ends.

As Vishwak Sen’s frustration grows, in the absence of a clear lead, so does the audience’s admiration for the relentless plot. The writing is flawless. The accents are bang on, the performances on pitch. And there are no cracks, lapses or loose ends in the story.

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Music, Ruhani and Murli

Vivek Sagar’s music, as I mentioned, is paisa vasool. It builds and swings in tandem with the emotions of the protagonist. It rises suddenly, then stops mid-note as he comes to a panic attack. And it flits easily between blues and electronica.

Ruhani Sharma, who plays Vishwak Sen’s lover, and Murli Sharma who plays a constable, are both under-utilised. Ruhani’s performance in Chi La Sow was brilliant, and Murli is by far one of the most versatile actors who has done inspiring work in both Bollywood and Tollywood. Both needed more space, more lines, more consideration.

In a sense, the story and even the visuals revolve almost entirely around Vikram and his associate Rohit, as they grind through a mountain of clues. The occasional cutaways in the city are all too brief and do nothing for the story.

HIT is one hell of a debut for the director, and a movie you can take home and chew on.

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