New Delhi: Violence sells big on the big screen, and filmmakers aren’t letting go of this formula as long as the box office keeps encouraging them. Telugu actor Nani’s HIT: The Third Case, set to release on 1 May, is the latest to be making all the buzz. While fans are obsessing over Nani’s look in the trailer, the censor board has asked the filmmakers to introduce cuts, citing the use of cuss words and some violent scenes. But nothing has killed the hype—advance booking stats are through the roof.
Its USA pre-booking has raked in Rs 1.77 crore so far. Tamil star Suriya’s Retro, also scheduled to release on 1 May, had only earned around Rs 3 lakh as of 24 April.
Directed by Sailesh Kolanu, the film is the third in the HIT franchise. The first movie was led by Vishwak Sen, and Adivi Sesh plays the protagonist in the second one.
Nani has been known for feel-good cinema and his boy-next-door looks. HIT 3 is the latest in his progression to darker roles, raising the stakes of the film’s release. It’s also eyeing the Hindi-speaking market.
The transition began with period action drama Dasara (2023), and was followed up with the action thriller Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (2024). It has reached its peak with HIT: The Third Case, where the gore and violence are similar to the Malayalam film Marco (2025).
The Examining Committee of the CBFC asked for both audio and visual cuts. The makers were asked to limit the use of cuss words and slang. CFBC asked the makers to tone down scenes of child abuse and politically sensitive content. A scene where a police uniform is burned was also asked to be modified, along with a scene that shows a throat being slit in a visceral manner.
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A genre shift
It was the final scene in HIT 2: The Second Case (2022) that gave fans enough to live in anticipation of what the third instalment would have. In the wedding scene of cop Krishna Dev (Adivi Sesh) and Aarya (Meenakshi Chaudhary). Arjun Sarkaar (Nani) walks dressed in white. As he drinks water from a bottle, a single drop of blood on one of his rolled sleeves is visible. In the scene, when he opened his car door, viewers saw a glimpse of a pair of bloodied hands held together by a rope, indicating he might have been tortured.
The film’s teaser and trailer now make it clear that the previous film’s ending was a symbol of all the violence that would come in the latest instalment. Nani’s white tuxedo is splattered with blood as he wields his lathi.
The third film has also pushed the envelope on the grey shades of the protagonists, earlier played by Vishwak Sen in HIT (2020) and Adivi Sesh. The earlier protagonists don’t always follow the law or procedure while solving a crime. In the first film, Sen’s character has PTSD and refuses to take medication that he thinks will ‘dull’ his investigative abilities. Sesh is confident to the point of being arrogant, treating criminals as lesser human beings. In the third instalment, Nani’s character takes a notch further with his violent ways of combating crime.
A particular dialogue from the trailer has caught the fans’ attention. “You can’t survive here. I have been hearing this since the beginning of my career,” says Nani in Telugu. It is being interpreted by fans as a reference to Nani’s own career in Tollywood as an outsider, rising from a clap director to ‘natural star’.
Fans have also reacted positively to the use of Hindu orator Chaganti Koteshewara Rao’s spiritual statements in the movie’s trailer.
“Nani’s presence, Chaganti’s voice, pure cinema,” wrote a fan on YouTube, while another commented, “Nani is not simply acting, he is just living in that character.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)