''Thar'' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language
neo-Western
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referre ...
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
written and directed by
Raj Singh Chaudhary
Raj Mangal Singh Chaudhary is an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director.
Early life and career
Chaudhary was born in Darjeeling, India. After pursuing a career in modelling and earning his degree in software engineering from BMS College ...
and produced by
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...
and
Harshvardhan Kapoor
Harshvardhan Kapoor (; credited since 2022 as Harshvarrdhan Kapoor; born 9 November 1990) is an Indian actor and film producer. He is the son of actor Anil Kapoor.
Early life
Harsh was born in Mumbai on 9 November 1990, the only son of actor ...
. Set in the 80s, ''Thar'' follows a city man who moves to a village located in the wilderness for some exploration work, but there is more to him than meets the eye. It stars Anil Kapoor, Harshvardhan Kapoor, and
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Fatima Sana Shaikh (born 11 January 1992) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. Shaikh appeared as a child artist in such films as ''Chachi 420'' (1997) and ''One 2 Ka 4'' (2001). In 2016, she portrayed wrestler Geeta Phogat in the top ...
.
It released on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on 6 May 2022, to mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised the direction, cinematography, performances, dialogues, background score, and its homages to the
Western genre
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
, though some criticized its predictable story, screenplay, and editing.
Plot
In 1985, Siddharth Kumar, a mysterious antique dealer, travels through Munabao, a remote
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
i village situated in the
Thar desert
The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...
near the
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
border, that has been rocked recently by violent killings. As
Inspector
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
of Munabao, Surekha Singh, investigates these killings, when he crosses paths with Siddharth.
When Surekha finds out about the murders in the village, while investigating he comes to a conclusion that it was the dacoits who mercilessly killed a family for drugs not for the money collected for dowry as that family's only living person- the daughter claims.
Someone kills Suva, a villager and hang his body on a tree. All policemen believe it was same gang of dacoits but Surekha believes it is not the case considering Suva was tortured and mutilated before being hanged.
Panna is frustrated because of Chetna's infertility and does not like Siddharth's frequent visit to their home. He beats Chetna because of this.
Siddharth finds friends of Suva - Panna, Dhana and one more. Asks them for a job to transport antiques to Delhi. On the way Siddharth abducts them and keeps them at fort outside of the village. He comes back to village and sleeps with Panna's wife Chetna. While he intends to leave village next day, Chetna plans to leave with him. Dhana's wife suspects something wrong and reports to Surekha.
While investigating further about Siddharth, it is then revealed that his wife/girlfriend was similarly tortured and mutilated by these friends in Delhi and this entire story of murdering them all was Siddharth's revenge plot.
When Surekha is going to fort to arrest Siddharth, he is attacked by the gang of dacoits in which he successfully kills them all, survives and reaches fort.
Meanwhile Siddharth tells everything to Chetna and burns her husband Panna in front of her. When Surekha asks him to surrender, Chetna kills Siddharth.
After 6 months we see Chetna pregnant and Surekha recovering injuries he had.
Cast
*
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...
as
Inspector
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
Surekha Singh
*
Harshvardhan Kapoor
Harshvardhan Kapoor (; credited since 2022 as Harshvarrdhan Kapoor; born 9 November 1990) is an Indian actor and film producer. He is the son of actor Anil Kapoor.
Early life
Harsh was born in Mumbai on 9 November 1990, the only son of actor ...
as Siddharth Kumar
*
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Fatima Sana Shaikh (born 11 January 1992) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. Shaikh appeared as a child artist in such films as ''Chachi 420'' (1997) and ''One 2 Ka 4'' (2001). In 2016, she portrayed wrestler Geeta Phogat in the top ...
as Chetna
*
Jitendra Joshi
Jitendra Joshi is an Indian actor and reality show host who predominantly works in Marathi cinema. He is well known for his lead role as Sant Tukaram Maharaj in the 2012 marathi movie Tukaram. He starred as constable Katekar in the hit Netflix ...
as Panna
*
Akshay Oberoi
Akshay Oberoi (born 1 January 1985) is an American actor of Indian-Americans, Indian descent, who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. After making his acting debut as a child in the 2002 comedy-drama ''American Chai'', Oberoi played his first lead ...
as Arjun Singh
*
Satish Kaushik
Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter.
Early life
Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is an ...
as Bhure
*
Mukti Mohan
Mukti Mohan is an Indian dancer and actress. She participated in Star One's dance reality show '' Zara Nachke Dikha 2'' and emerged as the winner. She also appeared on the comedy show '' Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo'' on Sony Entertainment Television ...
as Gauri
*
Rahul Singh as
Dacoit
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquia ...
Hanif Khan
*
Mandana Karimi
Mandana Karimi (born Manizeh Karimi; on 19 May 1988) is an Iranian actress and model based in India. After working on several successful modelling projects around the world, she appeared as a lead in the Bollywood film, ''Bhaag Johnny''. She pa ...
as Cheryl
Reception
Pooja Biraia Jaiswal of ''
The Week
''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 stars and wrote "''Thar''s gripping atmospherics, set in 1985, is captured evocatively by Shreya Dev Dube, as the narrative unfolds in the desert's grim expanse".
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
of ''
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
'' gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 stars and wrote "''Thar'' is a surprise of the season and worth watching for its plot, direction, music score and the never before seen locales of Rajasthan". Peter Bradshaw of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave the film a rating of 3/5 stars and wrote "There are hints of Sergio Leone and Cormac McCarthy in this Rajasthan-set mystery starring the actor and his son". Bharathi Pradhan of ''
Lehren
Lehren Networks Private Limited is a network of media and entertainment websites about India's entertainment industry, primarily Bollywood and related extensions. The company is located in Mumbai, India, and was founded by Mritunjay Pandey. Leh ...
'' gave the film a rating of 3/5 stars and stated "Cruel & Compelling". Renuka Vyavahare of ''
The Times Of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' gave the film a rating of 3/5 stars and wrote "Anil Kapoor's film choices are only getting better and bolder with age. Be it ''Thar'' or ''AK vs AK'', he's showing the millennials and OTT clan what a certified movie star is made of". Reubyn Coutinho of Netflix Junkie wrote "Shots of the sprawling desert landscape give one that classic western feel that can transport them back in time to the classic westerns or even the spaghetti westerns." Prateek Sur of ''
Outlook India
''Outlook'' is a weekly general interest English and Hindi news magazine published in India.
History and profile
''Outlook'' was first issued in October 1995 with Vinod Mehta as the editor in chief. It is owned by the Rajan Raheja Group. The pu ...
'' gave the film a rating of 3/5 stars and wrote "While Chaudhary has made a great attempt at bringing forth a dark neo-noir thriller, but in his haste to keep it under two hours, he has just squandered a great plot at hand".
Anna MM Vetticad of ''
Firstpost
''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18.
The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
'' gave the film a rating of 2.75/5 stars and wrote "Anil Kapoor's quiet charisma and innate appeal keep the film going even when its writing enters shallow waters".
Saibal Chatterjee
Saibal Chatterjee is an Indian film critic, an author of a book on Gulzar, co-editor of a book on films; and a documentary scriptwriter. He was a columnist at BBC News, Business Standard, Hindustan Times and Financial Express. And a staff writer of ...
of ''
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
'' gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Kapoor Sr delivers a restrained performance, and Kapoor Jr finds himself tackling a role that appears to be right up his narrow alley. Fatima Sana Shaikh is sultry and smouldering by turns".
Shubhra Gupta
Shubhra Gupta is an Indian film critic, writer and columnist for ''The Indian Express'' from New Delhi, India. She received the Ramnath Goenka Award for Best Writing on Cinema in 2012. She was a member of the Central Board of Film Certificati ...
of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 stars and wrote "This is one of those films where the setting is the real hero-- the 'Marusthal' (desert) stretching as far as the eye can see, crumbling forts, bare trees providing meagre shade, implacable, hard beauty". Sukanya Verna of ''
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
'' gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 stars and wrote "''Thar'' fails to ignite any excitement on screen". Avinash Lohana of ''
Pinkvilla'' gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 stars and wrote "''Thar'' had immense potential and manages to retain a lot of it too, but what disappoints is the lack of enough twists, predictable turns and dispensable additions to the story". Gautaman Bhaskaran of ''
News18
Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
'' gave the film a rating of 2/5 stars and wrote "Anil Kapoor as the cop frustrated that he has not been able to rise in the ranks, does a decent job. But there is not much coming from Kapoor's son". Soumya Srivastava of ''
The Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' stated "Anil Kapoor outshines son Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor in the film, which begins as a Western set in Rajasthan but soon descends into torture porn genre".
References
External links
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*
{{Portal bar, India, Film, Bollywood
2020s Hindi-language films
2022 films
Indian neo-noir films
Indian direct-to-video films
Indian Western (genre) films
Indian action thriller films
Hindi-language Netflix original films
Films set in deserts
Films set in the 1980s
Films set in Rajasthan