''The Hitlist'' is a 2012 Indian
action thriller
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...
film written, directed and produced by
Bala (in his directorial debut). It was simultaneously shot in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
and
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
languages. The film stars Bala, Dhruv Sharma, and
Aishwarya Devan
Aishwarya Devan is an Indian actress and Beauty queen from Kerala state who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada language films. She was crowned Femina Miss India Maharashtra 2017 and represented Maharashtra state in Femina Miss India 2017 ...
, while
Samudrakani,
Thalaivasal Vijay
Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films.
Career
Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), ...
,
Riyaz Khan
Riyaz Khan is an Indian actor and bodybuilder. He predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and television series, besides acting in a few Telugu and Kannada films, as well as two Hindi films. Riyaz debuted in Malayalam through the 1994 ...
,
Tini Tom
Tini Tom is an Indian actor, comedian and mimicry artist from Kerala. He works in Malayalam films and television.
Early life
Tini was born in North Paravoor, Kerala, India. His father Tomy T.D. is an engineer. He has a sister Tincy. Tom comp ...
, and
Sasi Kalinga
V. Chandrakumar, better known by his stage name Sasi Kalinga, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009), ''Pranchiyettan & the Saint'' (2010), ''Indian Rupee ...
plays supporting roles. The film's music was composed by
Alphons Joseph. The plot follows
ACP Vikram Rathod, who is assigned to catch a serial killer who has been murdering police officers.
The film completed production in late-June 2012. ''The Hitlist'' was released in theatres on 7 December 2012.
Plot
Cast
*
Bala as
ACP Vikram Rathod
IPS
IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to:
Science and technology Biology and medicine
* ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle
* Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells
* Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique
* Intraparietal sulcus, ...
* Dhruva Sharma as Druv
*
Aishwarya Devan
Aishwarya Devan is an Indian actress and Beauty queen from Kerala state who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada language films. She was crowned Femina Miss India Maharashtra 2017 and represented Maharashtra state in Femina Miss India 2017 ...
as Avanthika
*
Riyaz Khan
Riyaz Khan is an Indian actor and bodybuilder. He predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and television series, besides acting in a few Telugu and Kannada films, as well as two Hindi films. Riyaz debuted in Malayalam through the 1994 ...
as
CI Simon
*
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
as Anand
*
Thalaivasal Vijay
Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films.
Career
Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), ...
as
IG Robert
IPS
IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to:
Science and technology Biology and medicine
* ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle
* Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells
* Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique
* Intraparietal sulcus, ...
*
Sreejith Ravi
Sreejith Ravi (born 19 May 1976) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Malayalam films and also in Tamil films. He is the son of actor T. G. Ravi.
Early life
Sreejith is the son of actor and industrialist T. G. Ravi and V. K. Subhad ...
as Peter
*
Sasi Kalinga
V. Chandrakumar, better known by his stage name Sasi Kalinga, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009), ''Pranchiyettan & the Saint'' (2010), ''Indian Rupee ...
as Madhavan
*
Tini Tom
Tini Tom is an Indian actor, comedian and mimicry artist from Kerala. He works in Malayalam films and television.
Early life
Tini was born in North Paravoor, Kerala, India. His father Tomy T.D. is an engineer. He has a sister Tincy. Tom comp ...
as Stephen
*
Riza Bava
Rizabawa (24 September 1966 – 13 September 2021) was an Indian actor who works predomiantly in Malayalam films and television. His breakthrough role was as a villain in the 1990 film ''In Harihar Nagar''. Since then, he acted as villain in s ...
as
DGP
*
Suresh Krishna as
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
* Kiran Raj as
SP
*
Samudrakani as
DSP
DSP may refer to:
Computing
* Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal
* Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing
* Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...
Anapazhakan
*
Sandhya as Gouri
*
Sukanya as Herself
*
Unni Mukundan
Unnikrishnan Mukundan (born 22 September 1987), commonly known as Unni Mukundan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Unni Mukundan made his acting debut with the Ta ...
as
SI Ajai Kumar (Cameo appearance)
*
Narain
Narayana (Also rendered Narayane, Narayanan, Narain, Narayankar or Narine) (from Sanskrit नारायण, ''nārāyaṇá'', literally "eternal man") is an Indian name. It is identical in form to the name of the deity Narayana, another name ...
as Dr. Lewis (Cameo appearance)
Production
''The Hitlist'' marks the directorial debut of actor
Bala. Screenplay was also written by him. He also played the lead role, while
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
actors Dhruv Sharma and
Aishwarya Devan
Aishwarya Devan is an Indian actress and Beauty queen from Kerala state who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada language films. She was crowned Femina Miss India Maharashtra 2017 and represented Maharashtra state in Femina Miss India 2017 ...
portrayed other two principal characters. Filming began in
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
. Initially,
Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of rol ...
and
Unni Mukundan
Unnikrishnan Mukundan (born 22 September 1987), commonly known as Unni Mukundan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Unni Mukundan made his acting debut with the Ta ...
were supposed to make cameo appearances. In the film, Mukundan and
Narain
Narayana (Also rendered Narayane, Narayanan, Narain, Narayankar or Narine) (from Sanskrit नारायण, ''nārāyaṇá'', literally "eternal man") is an Indian name. It is identical in form to the name of the deity Narayana, another name ...
appeared in cameo roles. Bala also produced the film. The film was simultaneously shot in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
and
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
languages.
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
and
Kiccha Sudeep
Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, television presenter and singer, who primarily works in Kannada films. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. He ...
did voice-over in Malayalam and Kannada versions, respectively.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features three songs composed by
Alphons Joseph . The lyrics were written by Santhosh Varma & Jophy Tharakan.
; Track listing
Reception
''The Hitlist'' was released in theatres on 7 December 2012. A critic rated the film 5.5 in a scale of 10 and wrote that the film is "a hotch-potch of many Hollywood thrillers and more faithful replica of
Jason Statham
Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent.
Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...
's ''
Blitz
Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to:
Military uses
*Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign
*The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War
*, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
'', it "may partially satisfy the demands of the die hard fans of action films". While the cinematography and Dhruv's acting was praised, screenplay and Bala's unconvincing portrayal of the lead role was criticised.
References
External links
''The Hitlist'' at JioCinema*
2012 films
2012 directorial debut films
2010s Malayalam-language films
2010s Kannada-language films
Indian action thriller films
2012 action thriller films
{{2010s-action-film-stub