HIT: The First Case Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao is the sole guiding anchor of this whodunnit flick

The Sailesh Kolanu directorial HIT: The First Case is the Hindi remake of the 2020 Telugu film of the same name. With it comes the inevitable curiosity of whether the movie can retain the essence of the original film without being an exact imitation. The movie almost manages to succeed at its attempt with a pumped-up screenplay during the mid-way. But alas! the climax which is the most crucial of it all and has an anticipating build-up to it makes the movie fall flat on the ground. 

The plot revolves around Vikram ( Rajkummar Rao ), a star officer of the Homicide Investigation Team (HIT) who is at the top of his game at work but suffers from severe PTSD triggered by a past traumatic experience. He is in a relationship with Neha ( Sanya Malhotra ) who's in the forensic department of the team. Suddenly when Neha goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Vikram's world comes crashing down. All hell breaks further loose when he takes up the case of a missing teenage girl whose disappearance might be connected with the vanishing of his ladylove. It is Vilram embarking on a grueling cat-and-mouse chase with the perpetrator that forms the crux of HIT: The First Case.

The screenplay and writing by Sailesh Kolanu and Girish Kohli make way for engaging sub-plots when it comes to the main investigation surrounding the case. The tribulations faced by the protagonist while working on the case intertwined with his past trauma are intricately etched out in many parts. Some brilliant subtle moments like Vikram accidentally nabbing a drug racket, ridiculing a moral policing professor, or giving it back to a rival police officer Aditya ( Jatin Goswami ) add more engagement to the pace of the film. 

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However, the movie falters when it comes to drawing an end to things. Just when you're at the peak of your anticipation surrounding the climax, you get a lousy screenplay and loose ends to the plotline. There is no conviction on how things draw a curtain on the final crime which tends to disappoint. 

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Talking about the performances, Rajkummar Rao is a one-man show in this one and does half of the heavy lifting in this one. The man shines throughout the film and is the perfect guiding anchor for the plot to keep us hooked especially in the investigation plotline. It'll be safe to say that HIT: The First Case is Rao's baby all the way.

Sanya Malhotra is underused in this one and is reduced to a mere prop in the film. Dalip Tahil, Jatin Goswami, and Milind Gunaji are impressive in their parts. However, Shilpa Shukla manages to shine in ber brief part. In the soundtracks, 'Kitni Haseen Hogi' and 'Tinka' are the only impressive songs from the music album. The cinematography by S Manikandan is also top-notch. Lastly, it feels that HIT: The First Case had the potential to be a visual spectacle in the thriller genre but went on to dig its own grave in the conclusion.