Hit List (2024 film)

Hit List
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Soorya Kathir Kakkallar K Karthikeyan
Written by	S.Devaraj
Produced by	K. S. Ravikumar
Starring	R. Sarathkumar Vijay Kanishka Gautham Vasudev Menon
Edited by	John Abraham
Music by	C. Sathya
Production company	RK Celluloids
Release date	31 May 2024 (2024-05-31)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Hit List is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Soorya Kathir Kakkallar and K. Karthikeyan and produced by K. S. Ravikumar under the banner RK Celluloids. The film stars R. Sarathkumar and Vijay Kanishka, alongside Gautham Vasudev Menon, Smruthi Venkat, Munishkanth and others in supporting roles.^[1][2][3][4]

Vijay (Vijay Kanishka) is an IT professional living with his mother Sithara and younger sister Abi Nakshatra. Vijay is an advocate of vegetarianism and a follower of Vallalar’s ideologies hoping not to harm any living creatures in the world. One day, Vijay’s mother and sister get kidnapped by a masked man who calls and threatens Vijay. ACP Yazhvendan (Sarathkumar) investigates the case. The masked man calls Vijay and wants him to break into the house of a local don Kaali (Ramachandra Raju) and fight him failing which Vijay’s mother and sister would be killed. Meanwhile, the police try to find the location of the masked man, but in vain.

Initially, Vijay hesitates to follow the masked man’s commands, however, later, fearing the safety of his mother and sister, Vijay agrees. He goes into the house of Kaali and fights with him single handedly. Surprisingly, Kaali is beaten to death by Vijay. Dr. Karunakaran (Gautam Menon) is the dean of a government hospital and the masked man kidnaps Dr. Karuna’s son as well. Dr Karuna and Vijay arrive at a location specified by the masked man. Now, the masked man comes online in the internet and discloses a truth about Dr. Karuna.

During COVID-19 lockdown, there was a severe shortage of oxygen cylinders in hospitals. Dr. Karuna misused his power and sold the oxygen cylinders from the government hospitals to private hospitals illegally. Dr. Anitha (Smruthi Venkat), who worked in Dr. Karuna’s hospital tried to expose him, however, got killed by him and his henchman Kaali. The masked man wants Vijay to beat Dr. Karuna following which Dr. Karuna is dead as well. Vijay’s mother and sister are released by the masked man now.

ACP Yazh traces masked man’s location and rushes to arrest him, however, it is late as the masked man already fled the place. Vijay gets acquitted in this case as he has done the murders to save his mother and sister. Later, ACP Yazh meets Vijay and reveals that he knows the real identity of the masked man who is none other than Vijay. He asks the reason for Vijay’s acts and a flashback is shown. Dr. Anitha happened to be Vijay’s neighbour. Samuthirakani was Vijay’s father and was infected with COVID-19. When there was a shortage of oxygen cylinders, Samuthirakani gave his oxygen cylinder to save a pregnant woman. Samuthirakani passed away. Vijay and his family wanted to revenge this and they waited for a couple of years sketching a proper plan to expose Dr .Karuna and also kill him. ACP Yazh understands Vijay’s intentions and does not disclose this to anyone

The film's announcement was made on August 31, 2022.^[5] A puja ceremony was held on Thursday, September 1, 2022, in Chennai to mark the launch of the production of Hit List. It was announced that director Vikraman’s son, Vijay Kanishka, will play a lead role.^[1][5]

The film was released on 31 May 2024 in theatres to mixed reviews.^[6] The film was released on streaming platforms of Amazon Prime Video and Aha Tamil on 09 July 2024. ^[7][8]

A critic from The New Indian Express wrote that the film's "core message, though important, feels somewhat dated. Nevertheless, the film has its heart in the right place, with the message reflecting a real-life injustice".^[9] A critic from The Times of India rated the film two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that "Directed by duo Sooryakathir and K. Karthikeyan, Hitlist has its moments. Some good camerawork and sound design create the necessary suspense. A decent thriller for a lazy afternoon".^[10] A critic from OTTplay gave the film the same rating and wrote that "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".^[11] A critic from Times Now gave the film the same rating and wrote that "Directors Sooryakathir Kaakkallar and K Karthikeyan seem to have a solid script on paper. However, where they seem to have faltered is in getting that script convincingly transferred onto the screen".^[12] A critic from The South First wrote that "It is one of those thrillers you don't mind sitting through when you don't have much to do".^[13]

• Hit List at IMDb