After backing the first two installments of doctor-turned-filmmaker Sailesh Kolanu’s HIT franchise, which was headlined by Vishwak Sen and Adivi Sesh, Nani is doubling up as the lead in HIT: The Third Case. The trailer of the film, produced by Nani’s Wall Poster Cinema, was released on Monday, and it promises to be a bloody investigative drama that isn’t dialling down the violence at all.
The trailer opens with Nani’s Arjun Sarkaar talking about the ‘rightful’ place for criminals, and it is clear that the film, like most police procedurals, will glorify institutional violence. Although the premise of the movie remains unclear, it appears to involve a missing nine-month-old baby, women chained in cages, and an underground fighting ring of sorts that has Nani’s Arjun Sarkaar turning a white suit into a bloody red one.
Here’s the trailer:
There are enough shots of violence to warrant the ‘A’ certificate, and points to the makers for making it clear in the promotions that it will be a bloody actioner that is not suitable for ‘kids and faint-hearted.’ If the hand-to-hand combat scenes weren’t enough, there are enough punches, kicks, and violent takedowns of people too. And if that wasn’t enough, there are meat cleavers being brandished around, resulting in arms being cut, throats being gutted, and you know… In fact, there is a line that a character says, “There’s a line that humans don’t cross. We are going to cross that tonight.” And the interesting aspect of the trailer is that it is tough to decide whom to attribute this dialogue to… The protagonist or the antagonist?
Nevertheless, in between all the bloodied and stylised shots of Nani, we also get Srinidhi Shetty. While most of the trailer services the character of Arjun Sarkaar, there is a throwaway line that glorifies ‘Natural Star’ Nani, who has managed to create a space for himself in Telugu cinema despite being a rank outsider.
When someone tells Arjun Sarkaar that he can’t survive in the place, pat comes the reply, “I’ve been listening to this since the beginning of my career.” Well, come what may, HIT: The Third Case marks a new phase in the career of Nani, who seems to be gravitating towards raw action dramas. With Nani working with his Dasara director Srikanth Odela in the much-anticipated Paradise, which promises to be another bloody actioner, it is clear that the star is trying to shed his image of the man-next-door who would put a smile on our faces with his choice of films.
ALSO READ: HIT 3 teaser: Nani steps into a ruthless cop role in the newest chapter of HIT Universe
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With the tagline of ‘Ab ki baar, Arjun Sarkaar,’ HIT: The Third Case, which also stars Surya Srinivas and Adil Pala, will hit the screens in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi on May 1. The film will clash at the box-office with Suriya-Karthik Subbaraj’s Retro.
