HIT: The First Case Movie Review (2022): A Tense Whodunit With a Wounded Lead
Some crime thrillers are like a locked door; all the fun is in testing the handle. HIT: The First Case works the same way. It asks viewers to watch closely, doubt everyone, and sit with a lead character who’s not fully steady.
This is the 2022 Hindi crime thriller directed by Sailesh Kolanu, a remake of his 2020 Telugu film. It follows Vikram Jaisingh, a Homicide Intervention Team officer dealing with PTSD while investigating the disappearance of a young woman in Jaipur. Basic film details and credits are summarized on the [HIT: The First Case (2022 film).
No major spoilers follow. This review sticks to the story setup, acting, pacing, twists (in broad terms), and who’s most likely to enjoy the ride.
What the movie is about, and why the case feels personal
HIT stands for Homicide Intervention Team, a special police unit pulled into hard cases that regular systems can’t crack fast enough. In plain terms, it’s the squad that gets called when the clock is loud, and the clues are quiet.
Vikram is sharp, observant, and good at reading people. He’s also carrying trauma that doesn’t wait for convenient moments. Early on, the film makes it clear that his panic attacks and memory gaps aren’t side effects. They shape how he works, how he reacts, and how much pressure he can take before something gives.
The central case involves a missing young woman, Preethi, who vanishes under unsettling circumstances around Jaipur. The disappearance pulls the team into a chain of leads that rarely point in one clean direction. Small discoveries open bigger questions, and every answer seems to arrive with a new problem attached.
What makes the case feel personal is the way it hits Vikram’s weak spots. The investigation keeps poking at his fear, guilt, and need for control. Even when the team shares the load, the film keeps returning to Vikram’s internal fight: solve the case, stay functional, don’t fall apart in front of everyone.
The structure is classic whodunit. There are red herrings, suspicious timing, and characters who feel slightly off. The best part is that it doesn’t pretend police work is magic. It’s interviews, pressure, errors, and the slow grind of connecting dots.
Is the mystery easy to follow, or does it get confusing?
For most viewers, the mystery is playable. Clues are shown instead of hidden, and suspects don’t pop up out of nowhere at the last second. The film introduces multiple threads early, which can feel busy at first.
The opening stretch moves carefully, sometimes too carefully. It sets up the unit, Vikram’s condition, and the missing person case in a way that can feel like it’s clearing its throat. Once the investigation starts stacking real consequences, the story tightens, and the scenes become more direct.
Viewers who like patient procedurals will settle in fast. Anyone who wants immediate action may need to give it time, because the movie builds its tension like a kettle, not like a jump scare.
Performances and characters that carry the tension
Rajkummar Rao anchors the movie as Vikram. He doesn’t play the character as a superhero cop. He plays him like a capable professional who’s trying to hide how close he is to the edge. That choice pays off in the interrogation scenes, where confidence and fragility can sit in the same look.
Sanya Malhotra, as Neha, adds warmth without turning the film into a romance detour. Neha isn’t written as a cheerleader. She’s a forensic professional and a partner who can push back, ask hard questions, and still care about Vikram’s limits. Their relationship also helps explain what’s at stake beyond the case file.
The supporting team matters here. The HIT colleagues aren’t just background bodies carrying folders. They give the investigation a grounded feel, like an office that runs on routine and sudden urgency. The best thrillers often feel like work, not theatrics, and this cast helps sell that tone.
A small but important detail is how the film uses silence and awkward pauses. When characters don’t rush to speak, the tension rises. In scenes where everyone watches everyone else, the performances do the heavy lifting.
How the PTSD angle is handled, and when it works best
On screen, Vikram’s PTSD is treated as a real limitation, not a quirky trait. It interrupts him at bad times. It changes what he remembers. It forces him to rely on others, even when his pride hates that.
The approach generally feels respectful because it shows cost. It doesn’t present trauma as a shortcut to genius, and it doesn’t wrap things up with an easy cure. Some moments can feel heavy, especially when the film returns to his episodes repeatedly, but that weight is also part of the point. The case is intense, and he isn’t starting from a calm place.
Where it works best is when the condition raises practical stakes. A clue comes in, a suspect slips away, or a decision has to be made fast, and Vikram’s body doesn’t cooperate. The suspense isn’t only about catching someone. It’s also about whether Vikram can keep control long enough to finish the job.
Pacing, twists, and the overall thriller payoff
HIT: The First Case is a slow-burning thriller with a clear middle sprint. The first act spends time on setup, then the investigation starts clicking into a steadier rhythm: lead, interview, contradiction, new angle, repeat.
Once the movie locks into the case, it becomes hard to casually look away. It finds tension in ordinary places, a hallway conversation, a quiet car ride, a paused phone call. The score and sound design push that unease without drowning the scene in noise.
The runtime may feel a bit long for some viewers, mostly because the early section takes its time, and the suspect pool can stretch scenes that are making the same point. Still, the second half rewards patience with stronger momentum and sharper stakes.
The twists rely more on misdirection than shock. The film keeps guiding attention toward “likely” answers, then nudges it away with new details. Without giving anything away, the payoff feels more satisfying when viewers accept the film’s pace and play along instead of waiting for nonstop fireworks.
What works, what does not, and the best moments to watch for
What works is the suspense and the lead performance, along with the way teamwork feels believable. The movie’s best scenes often come down to pressure, a suspect who won’t crack, a detail that suddenly matters, or a room that feels too quiet for how serious the situation is.
What doesn’t work as well is the early drag. The first act can feel packed with setup, and the “multiple suspects” approach can repeat beats before the story narrows.
The standout moments, spoiler-free, include a few interrogation exchanges where the power in the room shifts mid-sentence, and a couple of clue reveals that land because they’re simple, not flashy. Those are the scenes where the movie feels most confident.
Who should watch HIT: The First Case, and how it fits the HIT franchise
This HIT: The First Case movie review lands on a clear recommendation for a certain crowd: viewers who like whodunits, missing person stories, and grounded cop dramas where work and personal damage collide. It’s not a breezy mystery, and it doesn’t try to be.
It also fits into a wider HIT identity by design, since it’s an official remake of Kolanu’s earlier Telugu film. The ending leaves a sense that not everything is emotionally finished for the lead, and it hints at more road ahead without turning the final minutes into a sales pitch.
On the business side, public reporting suggests the Hindi remake underperformed theatrically relative to its budget, and awards coverage hasn’t stood out in major public roundups as of early 2026. For quick aggregated reception snapshots, viewers can check the film’s page on Rotten Tomatoes for HIT: The First Case.
Conclusion: A solid thriller that rewards patience
As a spoiler-free verdict, HIT: The First Case is worth watching for mystery fans who don’t mind a measured build. It’s strongest when it turns Vikram’s personal struggle into real tension, and Rajkummar Rao keeps the character human even in big moments. The main drawback is a slower first act and a runtime that can feel stretched before the case fully grips. Rating: 3.5 out of 5. If a viewer guessed the misdirection early, it’s a fun one to compare notes on afterward.