British Board of Film Classification rates HIT 3, Retro ‘strong’ for violence; gives full details of language, horror

Both Nani's HIT: The Third Case and Suriya's Retro are slated for release on May 1. Here's how the British Board of Film Classification rated both.

Sailesh Kolanu’s Telugu Nani-starrer HIT: The Third Case and Karthik Subbaraj’s Tamil Suriya-starrer Retro are both slated for release worldwide on May 1. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rated both films strong for violence and revealed further details of the kind of language and horror used in the films. (Also Read: Suriya warns fans against picking up a smoking habit because he did it in Retro: ‘You would think one puff is enough’)

Nani and Suriya in stills from their upcoming films HIT: The Third Case and Retro.

HIT: The Third Case rated 18 for strong bloody violence and gore

HIT 3’s synopsis on the BBFC website reads, “In this Telugu-language crime thriller, a maverick police officer is drawn into the disturbing world of a series of gruesome murders he is investigating.” It has been rated strongly for ‘violence’ and ‘injury detail’ while ‘threat and horror’, ‘language’ and ‘suicide and self-harm’ received high ratings too. For context, the ratings are almost similar to Unni Mukundan's 2024 Malayalam film Marco, which is touted to be the ‘most violent Indian film’.

The additional info reveals that there are ‘prolonged scenes’ involving stabbing, shooting, dismemberment and other bodily harm. The film also has some ‘strong language’ in one instance, accompanied by ‘milder terms’ in other scenes. Much like the trailer hinted, the website confirms that scenes depicting trafficking, sex work, harassment and critical danger to a child are part of the film.

Retro rated 15 for strong bloody violence, language, threat

Retro’s synopsis on the BBFC website reads, “A former gangster who once swore to give up his violent ways must break his vow in order to defeat his enemies and protect his estranged wife in this Tamil-language action thriller.” It has been rated high for ‘violence’, ‘threat and horror’, ‘language’ and moderately for ‘drugs’, ‘sex’ and ‘sexual violence’.

The additional info reveals that there is a ‘short but bloody torture sequence’ and people are ‘slashed, stabbed, shot or bludgeoned’. One scene even shows a newborn baby being branded with a metal object. There is also a flashback involving cultists and babies in the film, apart from some ‘strong language’ and ‘milder terms’. The film also makes reference to drugs without condoning it, and has ‘potentially distressing scenes’ involving women and children.

About HIT 3 and Retro

HIT 3 is the third in a franchise that saw Vishwak Sen and Adivi Sesh also play cops solving mysterious murders. Nani’s character, Arjun Sarkaar, was introduced at the end of HIT 2, and HIT 3 is rumoured to have a cameo by a Tamil superstar, taking the franchise forward. Srinidhi Shetty plays the female lead in her Telugu debut.

Retro also stars Pooja Hegde as the lead. The film also stars Joju George and Jayaram, apart from Suriya and her. The film’s tagline is Love, Laughter, War, and it remains to be seen how it fares.