Dec 13, 1999

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Issue Contents

Govind Nilhani's stab at a 'commercial' thriller

By Anupama Chopra

First, the critical question. Can art-house auteur Govind Nihalani, a founder-member of India's new-wave cinema, direct a popular format film? Going by Thakshak, no. The mainstream elements are Thakshak's weakest spots. A.R. Rahman's songs -- with the exception of the fabulously sung and choreographed Rang de -- are tacked on with the randomness of a David Dhawan film. Nethra Raghuraman seems to exist only to provide some skin and song. The love scenes, all slow-motion shots, wind-blown hair and poetry, are pretentious. And the lead couple never seem to have a normal conversation.

But pare off the mainstream fat and you have the quintessential Nihalani film, only this time Ajay Devgan plays the man in a moral dilemma instead of Om Puri. Nihalani's concerns are the same -- urban crime, official corruption, the loss of values in an increasingly consumerist and brutalised society. Thakshak is a white-collar underworld story. Unlike the grime-ridden gangsters of Satya or Vaastav, these killers drive fancy cars, have pop-star girlfriends, live in lavish apartments and run a flourishing construction empire. But in Mumbai, property means murder. Ishaan (Devgan) and Sunny (Rahul Bose) are second generation underworld members who intimidate and kill without compunction. Enter a poetry-spouting dancer Suman (Tabu), and Ishaan begins to question his surroundings. The film ends with Ishaan killing the psychotically cruel Sunny.

It's not a particularly original story, and there are several sloppy twists. Suman, an intelligent woman, doesn't figure out what her boyfriend does till he's eyebrow deep in blood. In a city of 12 million people, everybody seems to spot each other at the traffic lights, and a wanted Pakistani insurgent is easily nabbed at a disco. Still, Thakshak, at least partially, makes compelling viewing. 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.

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