The
Nani
starrer
is
an
all-out,
larger-than-life
upgrade
of
the
HIT
series
that
loses
steam
in
its
attempts
at
stylistic
indulgence,
notes
Arjun
Menon.
Sailesh
Kolanu
has
made
a
name
for
himself
with
the
blockbuster
HIT
series
that
features
individual
crime
procedural
films
that
are
stripped
of
the
‘Indian
mass
movie’
temptations,
delivering
basic
genre
pleasures.
These
films
have
been
an
anomaly
in
the
Telugu
mainstream,
where
leading
men
as
police
officers
usually
represent
a
more
populist
sub-genre
of
masala
cinema.
This
series
function
more
as
episodic
crime
films
expanded
for
a
feature
presentation
with
different
actors
playing
the
lead
role
in
each
film,
with
the
director
being
the
only
constant
presence.
HIT
3
sees
Nani,
who
produced
the
first
installment
headlined
by
Vishwak
Sen,
and
presented
the
second
one
featuring
Adivi
Sesh,
finally
starring
as
the
lead
in
the
third
installment.
HIT
3
is
heightened
as
opposed
to
its
predecessors
in
terms
of
its
story
world
and
character
design.
The
titular
Homicide
Intervention
Team
this
time
around
is
headed
by
an
enigmatic,
trouble-seeker
Arjun
Sakaar
(Nani),
who
is
entrusted
with
a
mysterious
murder
case
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir
that
finds
its
follow-up
in
different
parts
of
the
country.
The
hero,
as
usual,
puts
together
a
team
and
begins
to
unravel
the
mystery,
one
revelation
at
a
time.
The
film
places
itself
around
the
cop
with
anger
issues
and
a
mild
midlife
crisis
hovering
above
his
seemingly
‘cool’
ways
of
investigation.
The
film
is
held
together
by
Nani,
who
effortlessly
carries
the
eccentricity
and
strange
ways
of
the
unusual
investigator.
The
crime
and
its
aftermath
are
all
perfunctory
at
best,
with
monetary
flourishes
of
good
writing
choices.
There
is
also
a
backstory
that
follows
the
hero,
related
to
the
murder
that
puts
the
whole
investigation
into
action.
HIT
3
boasts
of
some
great
theatrical
moments
in
its
writing,
and
the
violence
and
bloodshed
set
it
apart
from
the
earlier
films.
The
film
approaches
the
central
investigation
as
a
dramatic
device
to
offer
more
gruesome
imagery,
as
the
fuming
hero
has
more
reason
to
bash
people’s
heads
in
due
to
his
unruly
temperament
and
high-jinx
revelations
thrown
at
him.
HIT
3
is
more
cinematic
and
larger-than-life
by
design,
and
you
can
sense
Sailesh
Kolanu
upending
the
more
realistic,
stripped-down
aesthetic
of
the
first
two
films,
for
a
more
crowd-friendly
model.
HIT
3
seems
to
be
going
for
a
completely
different
vibe
with
its
heightened
action
and
rousing
screenplay
moments.
The
film
is
catering
to
a
wider
audience
with
multiple
cameos
and
unexpected
commercial
cinema
tropes
that
are
integrated
at
several
key
plot
points.
You
can
sense
the
HIT
franchise
morphing
into
a
more
popular
cop
franchise
with
bigger
stakes.
Mickey
J
Meyer
is
aware
of
the
mainstream
iconography
and
uses
his
score
as
a
means
to
heighten
the
dramatic
punch.
Nani’s
star
persona
is
captured
in
full
glory
by
Cinematographer
Sanu
John
Varghese.
You
get
a
sense
of
the
style
overtaking
the
written
word
at
many
moments.
Srinidhy
Shetty
doesn’t
get
to
do
much
and
is
confined
to
being
an
incidental
romantic
track
that
seems
more
like
an
afterthought.
But
there
is
restraint
in
the
way
the
fluff
is
integrated
into
the
mix.
Samuthirakani,
playing
Nani’s
father,
brings
in
some
laughs
with
the
oddball
interactions
with
the
hero.
This
is
not
a
particularly
grounded
film
for
the
performers
to
take
centre
stage,
unlike
the
first
two
films,
where
each
casting
choice
and
character
detail
felt
like
important
signifiers
in
the
bigger
picture.
Here,
they
are
all
there
to
support
Nani’s
one-man
army
antics
as
mere
placeholder
figures.
Even
Prateik
Babbar
gets
short-changed
with
an
underwritten
antagonist
arc.
The
slickness
of
the
narrative
and
the
genre
shifts
are
done
well
but
the
film
does
not
live
up
to
Nani’s
commitment
to
all-out
badass
entertainment
and
just
sets
up
punches
without
earning
them.
The
actor
walks
away
with
a
larger-than-life
performance
that
might
be
a
treat
to
his
fans.
As
a
star
vehicle,
HIT
3
makes
logistics
sense
on
paper
but
as
a
third
installment
of
the
franchise,
the
novelty
doesn’t
make
it
anywhere
nearly
as
interesting
as
the
first
two
films.
HIT:
The
Third
Case
Review
Rediff
Rating:
