HIT: The First Case review – Long-winded investigative thriller that leaves no mark

Dr Sailesh Kolanu’s HIT: The First Case (2022) is the latest south-to-Hindi transplant on the block. The remake stars Rajkummar Rao as Vikram, an ace detective in the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Though he is able to ferret out the truth in every case, trauma causes massive panic attacks to flare up every time he happens to look at flames or encounter any dead body, which is not ideal for a key HIT member. The panic attacks also hamper his health and ability to perform on the job. Therefore, he takes a short break and is forced to return when his girlfriend Neha (Sanya Malhotra), a lead forensic analyst, goes missing.

Neha’s disappearance could also be linked to another young woman’s abduction from the highway, which local law enforcement agencies and the HIT just cannot crack. An emotional Vikram can’t help investigating the disappearances, and along with his colleague Rohit (Akhil Iyer), tries to piece together what may have happened to both women.

The cast is made up of a solid team of actors, all of whom don’t get much to do. Rao’s Vikram is present for most of the time, but till the end, we still don't know him entirely or his much-hinted mysterious past. The actor portrays him in two modes, anxious and driven.

Sanya Malhotra as Vikram’s girlfriend has a thankless role as just that; she appears mostly in flashbacks and romantic songs. The rest of the cast is rounded up by supporting turns by Dalip Tahil as Vikram’s superior Shekhawat; Milind Gunaji as Ibrahim, a police officer and the last person to see Preeti alive; and Shilpa Shukla as a neighbour and possible suspect.

HIT: The First Case devotes a lot of time to the investigation and its numerous suspects, leading to several bluffs and red herrings and the eventual revelation of the real culprit. But the road to the finale is both tedious, awkward and baffling. The story takes a different turn from the Telugu original, hoping to create suspense for a new audience but ends up being laughably bad, unintentionally.

The blunders in the case and the twists and turns the investigation takes defy belief. There is no room or time to connect with any of the characters, and it becomes difficult to sympathize with Vikram as he is resolutely unwilling to share his secrets.

Ominously, the film ends with a promise of HIT: The Second Case, with a song stating, ‘Kahaani baaki hai...’ I wonder if they are going to be many takers after this.