Thakshak

Yes, it's refreshing to see a bollywood film that isn't solely a romance - there are too few original ideas these days. This film is about the Bombay mafia, and in particular the son of a Bombay don who gets crazed with power and loses control and respect for human life. There is the obligatory romantic angle between Ajay Devgan and Tabu, but this is thankfully kept to a minimum. The trouble is the film just doesn't carry. A weak storyline and poor acting from the main villain contribute the the film's failure to get the audience involved in the plot. Although Ajay and Tabu are brilliant at acting, their talents are wasted in this film. The music for the film - by A. R. Rehman -is really good, but the songs are intrusive and do not fit in with the feel of the movie. Overall, it is not surprising this film has flopped.

By 1995,I had read and heard a lot about the great movies Govind Nihalani had made but I had seen none of them. One afternoon while watching a weekly programme India This Week on DD-Metro I saw the preview of his then forthcoming movie-Drohkaal. Alongwith the preview there was series of behind the camera scenes and interviews about the movie which had wooed audience in film-festivals even before its release. From what I saw I realised that Drohkaal was a hard-hitting movie. At that time I was a fan of Ajay Devgan stunts but his carrier was on a low phase. I just dreamt that if ever Govind made a commercial film with Ajay Devgan as its hero what will be like.4 years later when Thakshak was released I smiled pleasantly on seeing that the dream was realised. However the flopping of the film made me feel that it is not good. Then one of my friends called it a damp-squib as he had a big hang-over of Vaastav-on similar lines and released around the same time. In all this I almost missed watching Thakshak. However when one of my other hostel-mate gave me rave review about it and said that it is a must watch for intense movie buffs we brought the VCD to hostel and I still remember that we watched it and loved it.

The story of Thakshak is brilliant. Although the concept of land-shark was shown in Mahesh Bhatt's Kabzaa-1986 as well but in Thakshak it is shown in a really complex way. The police-crime-politics nexus is also shown brilliantly. The movie shows a complexity in almost every character and it is portrayed in a good way. Like all famous Nihalani movies-Ardh Satya,Aakrosh and Drohkaal,Thakshak has a strong undercurrent of violence.

Ajay Devgan gives a brilliant performance as Ishan. Although the movie did not do wonders for him still he got acclaim for his portrayal of a man caught in a web of crime. It is totally different from his performance in Company-2002. Tabu as Suman is excellent. She gives new dimension to the role and proves that even heroines can make a solid impact in violent male oriented movies. The mature romantic scenes between the couple are very well executed and one cannot believe that this is the same pair which acted in potboilers liek Vjaypath and Haqeeqat. Amrish Puri is alsobrilliant. A regular of Nihalani Puri again proves his mettle as an actor. However the performance which haunts you the most is that of Rahul Bose.

I do have a vague recollection of seeing this movie years ago - nothing special but nonetheless more sensible and entertaining than the usual Hindi potboiler.

What I really do appreciate about this movie is the music - 2 songs, the zippy " RANG DE " and the dreamy " KHAMOSH RAAT " - the latter is a particularly beautiful song and I still enjoy this song as much as the first time I heard it.

This was one of the few mainstream Hindi movies Rahul Bose has done - surprisingly as a villain. I hope to see Mr and Mrs Iyer soon, heard he is terrific in it. Also missed Maqbool for Tabu but she shines in Chandni bar. As for Devgan and Nihlani, their body of work is so big it doesn't matter if their next 4-5 movies make it at the BO or not!

Thakshak is basically over 2 and a half hours of Drama + Romance + Music + Some action as topping .

The film is watchable but perhaps only once.

Story is about a local goon who works for an underworld don and owes allegiance to his wayward son as his father and the don would be friends. thus taking part in all the latter's illegal activities. Things take a turn when his loved ones and innocent people get affected and soon he has to battle his conscience and work.

The good - The acting , the storyline, the action sequences, the music

The bad- the film drags at many laces. They have tried to fit in as may song sequences as possible withing the time frame, so songs keep coming up between scenes when there is no "Indication" for them. And also the editing is not continuous and smooth. But this is an issue with MOST Bollywood films of the 90's.

Moral of this film : 1.Never join hands with criminals and outlaws. 2.Never try to advice or argue with alcoholics and drug addicts

This movie is quite under rated. Yes it has a low budget, but it has some great character actors and an intriguing story line. But credit has to be given to new comer Rahul Bose whose turn as the hyper violent and unpredictable Sunny is terrifying and one of the best portrayals of a psychotic character in Hindi cinema since Shah Rukh Khans Darr.

Yes the pace is at times slow but the scenes with Rahul Bose and Ajay Devgan will have you on the edge of your seat. I hope to see Rahul Bose in more mainstream hindi cinema in the future as he has great acting talent and could even bridge the gap and enter into hollywood films.