HIT: The Third Case
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sailesh Kolanu
Written by	Sailesh Kolanu
Produced by	Prashanti Tipirneni Nani
Starring	Nani Srinidhi Shetty
Cinematography	Sanu John Varghese
Edited by	Karthika Srinivas
Music by	Mickey J. Meyer
Production companies	Wall Poster Cinema Unanimous Productions
Release date	1 May 2025 (2025-05-01)
Running time	157 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹70 crore[2]
Box office	₹120.58 crore[3]

HIT: The Third Case^[a] is a 2025 Indian Telugu-language neo-noir action thriller film^[4] written and directed by Sailesh Kolanu. Produced by Wall Poster Cinema and Unanimous Productions, it is the third installment in the HIT film series following HIT: The First Case (2020) and HIT: The Second Case (2022). The film stars Nani and Srinidhi Shetty (in her Telugu film debut). In the film, a ruthless police officer is sent by the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT) to find a group of killers and put an end to their grisly murder spree.

The Third Case was first teased in the credits of its predecessor, with Nani leading the cast. In February 2024, Nani's commitments went to Nani 32, directed by Sujeeth and produced by DVV Entertainment. However, due to delays with the director's They Call Him OG (2025) led to postponement with the start of its production. By September, Nani began prioritising The Third Case. Principal photography took place from September 2024 to March 2025 in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Jammu & Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh. The film has music composed by Mickey J. Meyer, cinematography handled by Sanu Varghese and editing by Karthika Srinivas.

HIT: The Third Case was released worldwide on 1 May 2025 in theatres. The film received mixed reviews from critics.^[5] It emerged as the eight highest-grossing Telugu film of the year. A sequel, HIT: The Fourth Case, is announced.

Plot

SP Arjun Sarkaar IPS, a formidable officer in the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT), is incarcerated after orchestrating a ruthless murder. In prison, a fellow inmate named Samuel Joseph rescues Arjun from a vengeful group of convicts he had previously arrested. Shortly after, Arjun narrates the circumstances behind his imprisonment to Joseph through a series of flashbacks.

Following Krishna Dev AKA KD's transfer to HIT Hyderabad, Arjun is posted as his replacement in HIT Visakhapatnam. Shortly after his arrival, he executes a civilian by slitting his jugular vein, records the act, and subsequently gets assigned to investigate his own crime. During the autopsy, it is discovered that the victim's endocrine glands were missing. Meanwhile, Arjun enters a romantic relationship with Mrudula, a woman he met through a matrimonial platform set up by his father. His subordinate, ASP Varsha, grows suspicious of his movements and tracks him down, witnessing him commit a second, identical murder. She attacks him, but Arjun overpowers her. When confronted, Arjun reveals that the victims were convicted pedophiles, and his actions are a part of an undercover operation to infiltrate a dark web cult known as "CTK" (Capture, Torture, Kill), which requires prospective members to upload two filmed murders to gain entry.

With authorization from ADGP Nageswara Rao IPS, Arjun leads a task force, including Varsha and Mrudula, revealed to be an undercover officer, to Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, where CTK's annual meeting is scheduled to take place inside a secluded Burmese palace. Upon arrival, the syndicate's leader, Alpha, deploys decoys to misdirect police backup, but Arjun manages to transmit the hideout's location by attaching a radio beacon to his pet vulture. Inside, he witnesses horrific executions of hostages and is forced to compete in a fatal fight to prove his allegience.

When Alpha threatens a nine-year-old infant, Arjun breaks his cover to save the child, provoking a massive battle against the cult members. Arjun's team and the Hyderabad HIT unit led by KD arrive via a beacon signal to assist, wiping out the cult. Arjun executes Alpha, discovering that CTK operated under the guise of an NGO named "Keen to Care" (KTC) to harvest endocrine glands from terrified victims for a global pharmaceutical trade to synthesise a highly potent sildenafil for the elite.

Returning to the present frame narrative, Arjun reveals to Samuel Joseph that he knew Joseph was the mastermind behind KTC all along. Having deliberately engineered his own arrest to get close to Joseph, Arjun executes him inside his prison cell. He dedicates the case's success to ACP Dhanya Mohan IPS, an undercover officer who sacrificed her life to protect the infant inside the hideout.

In a mid-credits scene, a new officer in Tamil Nadu, ACP Veerappan IPS, discovers a corpse hidden inside an interstate transport truck at the Andhra–Tamil Nadu border, laying the groundwork for HIT: The Fourth Case.

Cast

Production

Music

The music was composed by Mickey J. Meyer, in his second collaboration with Nani after Shyam Singha Roy (2021) and first collaboration with Sailesh Kolanu. The audio rights of the film were acquired by Saregama.^[22]

The first single, "Prema Velluva", was released on 24 March 2025.^[23] The second single, "Abki Baar Arjun Sarkaar", was released on 9 April 2025.^[24] The third single, "Thanu" was released on 25 April 2025. The fourth single, "Poratame 3.0", was released on 6 May 2025.

Release

Reception

Notes

References

External links

• HIT: The Third Case at IMDb