Thakshak

Last updated

Thakshak
Thakshak Poster.jpg
Directed by Govind Nihalani
Written byGovind Nihalani
Kamlesh Pandey
Produced by Manmohan Shetty (presenter)
Govinda Nihalani
Starring
CinematographyGovind Nihalani
Edited by Deepa Bhatia
Music by A. R. Rahman
Distributed byUdbhav
Release date
  • 3 December 1999 (1999-12-03)
Running time
161 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹6.5 crore [1]
Box office₹10 crore [1]

Thakshak is a 1999 Indian action drama film written, produced, filmed and directed by Govind Nihalani. Touted as Nihalani's attempt at popular cinema, this film stars Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Rahul Bose. The soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman.

Contents

Plot

A poetic romance between Ishaan and Suman set against the concrete Mumbai cityscape opens the film.

Ishaan, the only son of an affluent business family, and his contemporary peer Sunny, the grandson of the head of the business house, are being groomed to take over the business. They share a strong male bonding, Ishaan's controlled and silent strength acts as an anchor to Sunny's flamboyance and recklessly violent streak. The business, a construction empire built by Ishaan's father Nahar Singh and Sunny's grandfather, is rooted in violent and unlawful activities.

Ishaan, sheltered in comfort and security, begins to question his environment as his relationship with Suman, an idealistic young woman, opens a new world to him. As his love for her grows, so does his fear of losing her. Ishaan is caught between a life steeped in violence and his love for Suman who abhors violence.

Torn by his desire to leave the world of crime, and his sense of loyalty to his father and his friend, Ishaan unwillingly gets drawn deeper into violence, and finds himself a participant in an act of gruesome cold-blooded massacre. The image of a young girl disabled by this violent act haunts his conscience. His quiet, but firm resolve, to withdraw from the business clashes with Nahar Singh's pragmatism (to build power at any cost and to legalise crime with that power), and with Sunny's refusal to release him from his oath of loyalty.

The events escalate with Ishaan's arrest, and Nahar Singh's murder. Ishaan is finally forced to make a choice between personal loyalty and a larger allegiance to society and truth.

Cast

Soundtrack

Thakshak
Soundtrack album by
Released1999 (India)
Recorded Panchathan Record Inn
Genre Film soundtrack
Label Sa Re Ga Ma
Producer Manmohan Shetty
A. R. Rahman chronology
Jodi
(1999)
Thakshak
(1999)
Mudhalvan
(1999)

The music was composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics penned by Mehboob and Sukhwinder Singh. The film marked Rahman's first collaboration with Govind Nihalani. Their first collaboration was supposed to be Nihalani's acclaimed 1994 film Drohkaal . Rahman signed Drohkaal, but opted out midway after losing his compositions for the film on a computer crash. Rahman's soundtrack for Thakshak received positive reviews and was reviewed as one of the highlights of the movie. [2] The composition of the song "Jumbalika" was reused from A. R. Rahman's earlier work for a Tamil film En Swasa Kaatre , which was used in episode I Just Wasn't Made for These Times of science fiction TV series Defiance For the soundtrack to the 2001 Tamil film Star , Rahman reused most of his compositions from Thakshak. The song "Dheem Ta Dare" was set in Raga Megh (Madhyamavathi), which was later reused as "Thom Karuvil Irunthom". The song Rang De from the album was featured in an American film The Accidental Husband .

SongArtist(s)Lyrics
"Rang De" Asha Bhonsle, A. R. Rahman Sukhwinder Singh
"Khamosh Raat" Roop Kumar Rathod Mehboob
"Jaan Meri" Hema Sardesai Mehboob
"Dheem Ta Dare"Surjo BhattacharyaMehboob
"Boondon Se Baatein"Sujata TrivediMehboob
"Toofan Ki Raat"Hema SardesaiMehboob
"Dholna"Sukhwinder SinghSukhwinder Singh
"Jumbalika" Alisha Chinai, Shankar Mahadevan Mehboob

Reception

Sharmila Taliculam of Rediff.com said "This is Nihalani's first attempt at making a popular film. And he goes overboard." [3] Anupama Chopra writing for India Today stated "The performances are first-rate, especially those of Devgan and Amrish Puri. Only Bose, at times, goes over the top. Nihalani meanders unsteadily through the first half, but finds his grip during the second, expertly building up the tension to his minimalist climax. Thakshak is an experiment in popular format. It doesn't work fully, but patient viewers can expect to be amply rewarded." [4]

Related Research Articles

The Filmfare Best Villain Award was given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise an actor who had delivered an outstanding performance in a negative role. Although the awards started in 1954, this category was first introduced in 1992 and has been marked as obsolete since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajay Devgn</span> Indian film actor, director and producer (born 1969)

Vishal Veeru Devgan, known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema. A leading actor of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over 100 films and has won numerous accolades, including four National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. In 2016, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian honour.

<i>Karan Arjun</i> 1995 Indian film

Karan Arjun is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language fantasy action masala film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan, starring Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Raakhee Gulzar, Mamta Kulkarni and Kajol in lead roles. Amrish Puri portrays the main antagonist, while Johnny Lever, Arjun, Jack Gaud, Ranjeet and Aasif Sheikh appear in supporting roles. The film revolves around the story of the two titular brothers who seek revenge from their greedy uncle for murdering their father but are killed by him and are reincarnated to complete the revenge.

<i>Yaadein</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Subhash Ghai

Yaadein (transl. Memories) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film written, directed, edited and produced by Subhash Ghai. The ensemble cast cross over film starring Jackie Shroff, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor. The film was released worldwide on 27 July 2001 to negative reviews and was a box office disappointment. Jackie Shroff received a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 47th Filmfare Awards. Despite its box office failure, the film was profitable due to ancillary revenues of ₹21 crore, including ₹8.2 crore from selling music rights to Tips.

<i>The Legend of Bhagat Singh</i> 2002 Indian film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi

The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language biographical period film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is about Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary who fought for Indian independence along with fellow members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. It features Ajay Devgan as the titular character along with Sushant Singh, D. Santosh and Akhilendra Mishra as the other lead characters. Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal and Amrita Rao play supporting roles. The film chronicles Singh's life from his childhood where he witnesses the Jallianwala Bagh massacre until the day he was hanged to death before the official trial dated 24 March 1931.

<i>Phool Aur Kaante</i> 1991 Indian film directed by Kuku Kohli

Phool Aur Kaante is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language action-romance film directed by Kuku Kohli. It stars Ajay Devgan, Madhoo, Aruna Irani, Jagdeep and Amrish Puri among others. The film marked the debut of Devgan, son of late stunt and action choreographer Veeru Devgan, and Madhoo, niece of actress Hema Malini. The film was a superhit and won Devgan the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for 1991. This film was remade in Telugu as Varasudu and in Odia as Dhire Dhire Prema Hela. The film is loosely based on the Malayalam film Parampara directed by Sibi Malayil where Mammootty plays dual roles as Johnny, the protagonist and Lawrence, his father.

<i>Dev</i> (2004 film) 2004 Indian drama film

Dev is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film, directed by Govind Nihalani and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahul Bose</span> Indian film actor and politician

Rahul Bose is an Indian actor and athlete who primarily works in Hindi films. Bose is the president of the Indian Rugby Football Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Govind Nihalani</span> Indian film director

Govind Nihalani is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema, particularly the movement of parallel cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards, and five Filmfare Awards.

<i>Drohkaal</i> 1994 Indian crime drama film directed by Govind Nihalani

Drohkaal is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed and produced by Govind Nihalani, which deals with India's fight against terrorism. The film examines the mental and psychological trauma that honest police officers go through in their fight against a group of ruthless terrorists. It was remade simultaneously in 1995 in Tamil and Telugu as Kuruthipunal and Drohi.

<i>Junoon</i> (1978 film) 1979 Indian film

Junoon is a 1979 Indian Hindi language film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film is based on Ruskin Bond's fictional novella, A Flight of Pigeons, set around the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The film's soundtrack was composed by Vanraj Bhatia, and cinematography by Govind Nihalani.

<i>Tera Mera Saath Rahen</i> 2001 Indian film

Tera Mera Saath Rahen is a 2001 Indian drama film directed by Mahesh V. Manjrekar. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Dushyant Wagh, Sonali Bendre and Namrata Shirodkar.

<i>Raju Chacha</i> 2000 Indian film directed by Anil Devgan

Raju Chacha is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Anil Devgan and produced by his brother Ajay Devgn, debuting as a film producer. The film stars Ajay, Kajol and Rishi Kapoor, along with Sanjay Dutt in a special appearance. Raju Chacha was released theatrically on 29 December 2000 in India, whereas on 28 December 2000 in the United States. The film tells the story of Shekhar (Devgn), a con artist who falls in love with Anna (Kajol), the governess of three children belonging to the wealthy widower Siddhant Rai (Kapoor). When Siddhant dies, his children are placed under the custody of their scheming relatives. Shekhar returns into their lives, posing as Rajit Rai, the long lost brother of Siddhant to save the three children and their fortune.

<i>Haal-e-Dil</i> 2008 film by Anil Devgan

Haal – E – dil is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Anil Devgan, starring Adhyayan Suman, Amita Patak, and Nakuul Mehta. Mehta plays a painter named Shekhar, who woos Sanjana, but only to find she has a long-lost boyfriend, Rohit, who she believes, is no more. The film released on 20 June 2008.

<i>Jaal: The Trap</i> 2003 Indian film

Jaal: The Trap is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film directed by Guddu Dhanoa. It stars Sunny Deol, Tabu, Reema Sen, Amrish Puri and Anupam Kher. It was released on 18 July 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajay Devgn filmography</span>

Ajay Devgn is an Indian actor, director and producer who works in Hindi films. He debuted as an actor in Phool Aur Kaante (1991), which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Devgn then played a kickboxer in the martial arts film Jigar (1992) and a blind in Vijaypath (1994). His subsequent hits include Suhaag (1994), Dilwale (1994), Diljale (1996), Jaan (1996), Ishq (1997), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). He garnered Filmfare Best Actor nominations for Naajayaz and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. His performance in Zakhm (1998) secured Devgn his first National Film Award for Best Actor. In 2000, Devgn started Ajay Devgn FFilms and produced and headlined the commercially unsuccessful Raju Chacha. He got a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination for enacting a dacoit in the ensemble film Lajja (2001).

Love is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language romance film written, directed and produced by Rajendra Singh Babu. The film stars Aditya, making his debut, and Rakshita in lead roles, while Mohanlal, Amrish Puri and Kota Srinivasa Rao feature in supporting roles. This was also Mohanlal debut in Kannada. The film features soundtrack composed by Bollywood composer Anu Malik, marking his debut in Kannada cinema. A. R. Rahman's Airtel jingle was featured and reused for another four similar tunes in the film. The film was dubbed and released in Telugu as Prema Nagar and in Malayalam as Aey Taxi.

Guddu Dhanoa is an Indian writer, producer and director. He is mainly known for making Hindi films. He directed several action films, most notably Ziddi, starring Sunny Deol, and Bichhoo, starring Bobby Deol.

<i>Rangeela Raja</i> 2019 Hindi-language comedy film

Rangeela Raja is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Sikander Bharti and written and produced by Pahlaj Nihalani. Starring Govinda, Mishika Chourasia and Anupama Agnihotri, the film was released on 18 January 2019. The film is a remake of Netrikan.

References

  1. 1 2 "Thakshak - Movie - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  2. "Planet-Bollywood - Music Review - Thakshak". planetbollywood.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  3. "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Thakshak review". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  4. Chopra, Anupama (13 September 1999). "Movie review: Thakshak, starring Ajay Devgan, Tabu, Rahul Bose". India Today. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2022.