Hit List story

Vijay (Vijay Kanishka) is a corporate employee who lives with his sister Keerthana (Abi Nakshatra) and mother (Sithara). A peace-loving person, Vijay advocates for vegetarianism and even is up against his neighbour setting up rat traps. But after his family gets abducted by a mysterious person who holds Vijay at gunpoint and orders him to do violent acts, how will save them, with the help of police officer Yazhvendan (Sarathkumar)?

Hit List review

Contrast seems to be a running theme in Hit List. Somewhere in the middle of the film, we see Vijay, an ardent follower of ahimsa and respectful of every life, forced to finish off a thug in a one-on-one battle. Or as the mystery abductor puts it, a “virgin kolakaran” (he is called so because only sometime back he was forced to behead a hen) against someone who wouldn’t care less to kill a man within the blink of an eye. There is also an instance when Vijay supports going vegetarianism while the event tells go vegan (of course there is a huge difference between the two). In another instance, Vijay refuses to talk to his sister for a week, citing that she took it up on her hands to handle the eve-teasing she has been facing rather than tell it to her school or brother, at times when we are batting for women empowerment sans the male saviour complex. But barring such instances which sometimes give unintentional quips, and basic filmmaking, Hit List is a film that means well even as it provides a staple commercial film rooted in telling a social message.

If you break Hit List to the bare bones, it is mainly a cat-and-mouse chase between two men, that makes you think what would be a possible connection between them that warrants for a story. Thankfully there is one, even though it may not come off as a unique one. Hit List takes a pertinent topic that had ravaged the lives of many a couple of years back, and on its way, makes it a film that is packed with a social message and emotional drama. Now, this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially for its rudimentary nature. The presence of Samuthirakani affirms, and if you have followed the actor’s body of work and inclination towards societal messages, then Hit List may not come off as a surprise.

In Hit List, Sarathkumar plays Yazhvendan and what amuses is how despite the film being his third consecutive crime thriller playing a senior officer who pairs up with a youngster, (after Por Thozhil and Paramporul) it still seems to be different. While he gets his own heroic moments (and a scene where he dignifiedly avoids supporting vegetarianism), Vijay Kanishka delivers an honest performance, giving some peak into his ability to deliver emotions. Thankfully, the film skips portions of unnecessary romance and songs, but we are still not spared of a woman trying to lure our hero and distancing herself after being told he isn’t modern in the typical fashion of clubbing and partying. The downside of Hit List also includes some of the violent portions that may not necessarily add on to the storyline, even as the film delves into an abductor torturing his victims with the aim to manipulate and coerce, apart from starkly naming a pivotal character from the recent history pages of Tamil Nadu to talk about an issue.

Hit List is a film that takes a long time and roundabout turn to get to its message. Or rather, it masks as a crime thriller to spill out its true intentions. The film, as stated earlier, packs no surprises barring a few castings which even are predictable as the film progresses.

Hit List verdict

To break the film to the basics means to tell Hit List fulfills its objectives, which are not highly placed. Tucking a message, a flashback that connects all threads, and some moments that make you want to get tensed (and you may not be, given the number of films that have similar process), Hit List makes it to the list of films that are made with true and sincere intentions. But that alone isn’t enough in an era of filmmaking that has surpassed merely having good notions.

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