Hunt Review

Who amongst us hasn't watched a suspense flick while playing the guessing game in our minds? Most of us are armchair detectives, who, when the culprit is revealed, say, "I knew it all along!" Rare is a thriller with a twist that is so out of whack that nobody could have predicted it. Hunt, remade from the 2013 Malayalam film Mumbai Police, is one such rarity.

Sadly, though, Hunt is also a flaccid bore for the first two hours.

The movie starts off as a poor man's Bourne Identity. Police officer Arjun Prasad (Sudheer Babu) suffers a head injury in an accident just seconds after he solves the murder of his partner and bestie Aryan (Bharath Niwas). When he wakes up at the hospital he can't recall his own name. Like Bourne, Arjun discovers he can still do all sorts of cool cat moves to fight off thugs. His abs are still marvellous. His mind is still razor-sharp. With the help of his boss Mohan (Srikanth Meka), he hides his handicap and sets off to re-do the investigation.

The derivative amnesia angle at the beginning of the movie is partly redeemed as the story takes off in a fresh direction to explore themes of male vulnerability and loneliness. The bromance between the trio - Mohan, Arjun and Aryan - is a sweet respite from the alpha male energy that suffuses the typical action thriller. The boys hang out in bars and bachelor pads and all but sing kumbaya. There is no heroine to speak of.

But because the screenplay is a lopsided mess - dragging for the first 90% and then explosive for the last 10% - the overall experience is one of disappointment. The plot unnecessarily oscillates between the past and the present with some egregious errors in editing. A voiceover mentions a sting operation in Kashmir but the visuals are clearly someplace European. Arjun faces a transfer to Delhi, or wait, is it Mumbai? These flubs are not central to the plot, but the awkward transitions and pasty dialogues quickly add up to an amateur result.

Mahesh Surapaneni's direction is a bland affair too. One scene, in particular, captures his unrefined style. A horde of goondas prepares to launch an attack on Aryan and Arjun. They chant "1, 2, 3" ...and just when you think they're going to tear into the cops, mouths frothing and fists waving, they begin a slow saunter instead.

Nearly all of the movie's flair radiates from a single man: Sudheer Babu. He brings his hallmark debonair disposition and adds a dash of defiance to the character of ACP Arjun. You can also tell Sudheer does a fair bit of improvising with that extra wink or sneer that he throws in to make dull conversations come to life.

Bharat Niwas who plays Aryan reminded me of Satyadev in that he is often seen as a side character but is capable of surprising everyone when he gets chunkier roles. Veteran Srikanth is the least impressive of the cast, too fatherly to convincingly pull off his role as a top cop.

There is plenty to like about Hunt, but almost all of the appreciation comes as you exit the theatre. The big reveal at the end redeems most of the oddities and frustrations that appear throughout the film. But the fact is, Hunt repeatedly fails to engage or thrill in the moment - which is what ultimately matters. It is also quite a letdown knowing that the director took a 10-year-old critically acclaimed film and worsened it.