HIT: The Third Case

HIT: The Third Case (HIT 3) is a 2025 Telugu neo-noir action thriller written and directed by Sailesh Kolanu, the third film in the HIT series after HIT: The First Case (2020) and HIT: The Second Case (2022). Nani plays SP Arjun Sarkaar, a ruthless officer of the Homicide Intervention Team sent after a group of killers behind a grisly murder spree, with Srinidhi Shetty in her Telugu debut. It opened in theatres on 1 May 2025, runs 157 minutes, carries an “A” certificate, and has streamed on Netflix since 29 May 2025.

What the story is about

Arjun Sarkaar is a formidable HIT officer who is first seen in prison, telling a fellow inmate how he came to be there. In flashback, he takes over the HIT unit in Visakhapatnam, where a series of brutal murders with a disturbing common thread leads him towards an organised network operating far beyond the city. The investigation takes the story from Andhra Pradesh to Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. The film is graphically violent and turns on several reveals, so we stop at the set-up here.

Cast and characters

• Nani as SP Arjun Sarkaar
• Srinidhi Shetty as Mrudula
• Rao Ramesh as ADGP Nageswara Rao
• Samuthirakani as Arjun Sarkaar’s father
• Tisca Chopra as ADGP Karnika Ahuja and Prateik Smita Patil as Alpha
• Komalee Prasad as ASP Varsha and Surya Srinivas as ASP Ravi
• Ravindra Vijay as Samuel Joseph

Crew and music

• Writer-director: Sailesh Kolanu
• Producers: Prashanti Tipirneni and Nani (Wall Poster Cinema and Unanimous Productions)
• Music: Mickey J. Meyer; cinematography: Sanu Varghese; editing: Karthika Srinivas

The film was first teased in the end credits of HIT: The Second Case in December 2022. Shooting ran from September 2024 to March 2025 in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. Its songs include “Prema Velluva”, “Abki Baar Arjun Sarkaar”, “Thanu” and “Poratame 3.0”.

Release and reception

HIT: The Third Case was released on 1 May 2025, alongside Retro, Tourist Family and Raid 2. The censor board gave it an “A” certificate for its violence, and some scenes were cut or blurred. Reviews were mixed: Nani’s intensity was widely praised, while the story and the level of gore divided critics. Avad Mohammed of OTTPlay (3.5/5) said it “lives up to all the hype created”, Raisa Nasreen of Times Now (3/5) called it a “gritty thriller” with a predictable plot, and Sanjay Ponnappa of India Today (2.5/5) saw it as a fan feast for Nani’s admirers. BVS Prakash of Deccan Chronicle (2/5) was harsher, calling it “a stretched-out cop saga” that relies on “blood, gore, and brute force”.

On box office, Pinkvilla reported a worldwide gross of ₹88 crore in the first six days, including ₹65 crore in India. A fourth film, HIT: The Fourth Case, has been announced.

Where to watch HIT: The Third Case

HIT: The Third Case streams on Netflix. It started streaming on 29 May 2025 in Telugu, with Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam dubbed versions.

More Telugu films like this on Tollywood Desk: They Call Him OG, Missing Meghana, Arjun Son of Vyjayanthi.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on HIT: The Third Case and the reviews it summarises; box office from Pinkvilla; our own cast, crew, release and OTT records.