Thakshak
Encyclopedia
Thakshak is a 1999 action-drama Hindi film written and directed by director Govind Nihalani
. Touted as Nihalani's attempt at popular cinema, this film starred Ajay Devgan
, Tabu
and Rahul Bose
in the lead roles. The soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman
.
) and Suman (Tabu
), set against the concrete Mumbai cityscape, opens the film.
Ishaan, the only son of an affluent business family, and his contemporary peer, Sunny (Rahul Bose
), 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 acting as an anchor to Sunny's flamboyance and recklessly violent streak. The business, a construction empire built by Ishaan's father, Nahar Singh (Amrish Puri
) 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 with Nahar Singh's murder. Ishaan is finally forced to make a choice between personal loyalty and a larger allegiance to society and truth.
The story is parallel to Mario Puzo
's The Last Don
.
and lyrics penned by Mehboob
and Sukhwinder Singh
. Coming close on the heels of the soundtrack of Taal
, this soundtrack from Rahman received positive reviews and was claimed the highlight of the movie. The composition of the song "Jumbalika" was reused from A. R. Rahman
's earlier work for a Tamil film En Swasa Kaatre. For the soundtrack to the 2001 Tamil movie Star, Rahman reused most of his compositions from Thakshak. The popular song Rang De from the album was featured in a hollywood film The Accidental Husband
.
's depiction of a violent, reckless mafia heir bonding with Ajay Devgan
's portrayal of a strong, silent man was one of the highlights of the movie.
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
. Touted as Nihalani's attempt at popular cinema, this film starred Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
, Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
and Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
in the lead roles. The soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
.
Plot summary
A poetic romance between Ishaan (Ajay DevganAjay Devgan
Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
) and Suman (Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
), set against the concrete Mumbai cityscape, opens the film.
Ishaan, the only son of an affluent business family, and his contemporary peer, Sunny (Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
), 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 acting as an anchor to Sunny's flamboyance and recklessly violent streak. The business, a construction empire built by Ishaan's father, Nahar Singh (Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
) 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 with Nahar Singh's murder. Ishaan is finally forced to make a choice between personal loyalty and a larger allegiance to society and truth.
The story is parallel to Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
's The Last Don
The Last Don
The Last Don is a novel by Mario Puzo, best known as the author of The Godfather.The story alternates between the movie industry and the Las Vegas casinos, showing how the Mafia is linked to them both.-Plot:...
.
Cast
- Ajay DevganAjay DevganAjay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
... Ishaan Singh - Rahul BoseRahul BoseRahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
... Sunny - TabuTabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
... Suman Dev - Amrish PuriAmrish PuriAmrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
... Nahar Singh - Govind NamdeoGovind NamdeoGovind Namdeo is an Indian film actor. Govind made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam . He has acted in numerous A grade movies...
... Aslam Khan - Nethra RaghuramanNethra RaghuramanNethra Raghuraman is an actress and model from Vadodara, Gujarat, India. She has been selected as Look of the Year contest winner for Femina magazine in 1997. She also won the Best female newcomer title at Star Screen Awards in 2000. Her most notable films include Thakshak by Govind Nihalani and ,...
... Nishi - Uttara BaokarUttara BaokarUttara Baokar is an Indian stage actor, who also acts in both on films and television. An alumna of National School of Drama, she remained lead actress with the NSD Repertory Company in the 1970s and '80s, a period which saw the revival of Hindi theatre in Delhi, before moving to television and...
Soundtrack
The music was composed by A. R. RahmanA. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
and lyrics penned by Mehboob
Mehboob
Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,...
and Sukhwinder Singh
Sukhwinder Singh
Sukhwinder Singh, Born as Sukhi Singh Lubana is an Indian singer best known for working as Bollywood playback artist. Singh is famous for singing "Chaiyya Chaiyya" for which he won the Best Male Playback Award at the 1999 Filmfare Awards. The song, from Mani Ratnam's 1998 film Dil Se, was composed...
. Coming close on the heels of the soundtrack of Taal
Taal (film)
Taal is a 1999 Hindi film directed by Subhash Ghai. Taal was an official selection by Roger Ebert for his 2005 Overlooked Film Festival. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai, Amrish Puri and Alok Nath. It was also dubbed in Tamil as Thaalam...
, this soundtrack from Rahman received positive reviews and was claimed the highlight of the movie. The composition of the song "Jumbalika" was reused from A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
's earlier work for a Tamil film En Swasa Kaatre. For the soundtrack to the 2001 Tamil movie Star, Rahman reused most of his compositions from Thakshak. The popular song Rang De from the album was featured in a hollywood film The Accidental Husband
The Accidental Husband
The Accidental Husband is a 2008 American/Irish romantic comedy film directed by Griffin Dunne and starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth, Isabella Rossellini, and Sam Shepard. The film is written by Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor and Bonnie Sikowitz, and is produced by Jennifer Todd,...
.
| Song | Artist(s) | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|
| "Rang De" | Asha Bhonsle, A.R.Rahman | Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh, Born as Sukhi Singh Lubana is an Indian singer best known for working as Bollywood playback artist. Singh is famous for singing "Chaiyya Chaiyya" for which he won the Best Male Playback Award at the 1999 Filmfare Awards. The song, from Mani Ratnam's 1998 film Dil Se, was composed... |
| "Khamosh Raat" | Roop Kumar Rathod Roop Kumar Rathod -Personal life:Roopkumar is the son of the late Pandit Chaturbhuj Rathod, the classical luminary – an exponent of the rare and arguably the oldest style of singing i.e. Dhrupad. He belonged to the “Aditya Gharana of Jamnagar”. Pandit Rathod has trained and groomed many well known names like... |
Mehboob Mehboob Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,... |
| "Jaan Meri" | Hema Sardesai Hema Sardesai Hema Sardesai also known as simply Hema, is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi songs.During her career, Sardesai has sung playback songs for over 60 Bollywood films, has released several successful Indipop albums, and has performed numerous live stage shows in almost all the states... |
Mehboob Mehboob Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,... |
| "Dheem Ta Dare" | Surjo Bhattacharya | Mehboob Mehboob Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,... |
| "Boondon Se Baatein" | Sujata Trivedi | Mehboob Mehboob Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,... |
| "Toofan Ki Raat" | Hema Sardesai Hema Sardesai Hema Sardesai also known as simply Hema, is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi songs.During her career, Sardesai has sung playback songs for over 60 Bollywood films, has released several successful Indipop albums, and has performed numerous live stage shows in almost all the states... |
Mehboob Mehboob Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,... |
| "Dholna" | Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh, Born as Sukhi Singh Lubana is an Indian singer best known for working as Bollywood playback artist. Singh is famous for singing "Chaiyya Chaiyya" for which he won the Best Male Playback Award at the 1999 Filmfare Awards. The song, from Mani Ratnam's 1998 film Dil Se, was composed... |
Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh, Born as Sukhi Singh Lubana is an Indian singer best known for working as Bollywood playback artist. Singh is famous for singing "Chaiyya Chaiyya" for which he won the Best Male Playback Award at the 1999 Filmfare Awards. The song, from Mani Ratnam's 1998 film Dil Se, was composed... |
| "Jumbalika" | Alisha Chinai Alisha Chinai Alisha Chinai in Gujarati family and an Indian pop singer known for her several albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema.-Career:... , Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:... |
Mehboob Mehboob Mehboob Alam Kotwal is a writer of Bollywood film song lyrics. He was born in the Nashik district of India in a village called Chindwara. His family moved to the city of Mumbai for good in the 1940s where he received his primary education, first in English and later in Urdu.-Career:In 1986,... |
Reception
This movie was touted as Govind Nihalani's attempt at making popular cinema. The film was not well received both by critics and audiences. The lack of gripping screenplay and predictable storyline were claimed to be some of the weak points of the movie. The performance by the lead actors was appreciated. According to critics, Rahul BoseRahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
's depiction of a violent, reckless mafia heir bonding with Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
's portrayal of a strong, silent man was one of the highlights of the movie.