Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network’s Thar is the story of an obscure village in Rajasthan, which is shaken out of its slumber by a few murders. Police officer Surekha Singh (Anil Kapoor) sees the murders as a golden chance to prove his worth, something even his wife doesn’t believe in. Alongwith his assistant, Bhurelal (Satish Kaushik), Surekha Singh sets out to track the murderer and find out if the murders are the handiwork of one person only. The motive of the murders also remains a mystery till quite late. Is Siddharth (Harshvardhan Kapoor), the man from the city, behind the murders? He has actually come to the village to offer jobs to some people.
Raj Singh Chaudhary has written a story which promises a lot but offers hardly anything. Not just that, the story has almost no novelty and, therefore, fails to involve the audience. His screenplay abounds in scenes of gruesome violence and terrible torture, both of which restrict its appeal to the menfolk. Since the motive of the murders is revealed quite late in the day, the drama fails to keep the viewers engaged because it doesn’t involve them in a guessing game about why the murders have been committed and by whom. The drama has no comedy or emotional quotient. Raj Singh Chaudhary and Anurag Kashyap’s dialogues are often conspicuous by their absence. In other words, the drama often progresses without dialogues!
Anil Kapoor delivers a restrained performance as the investigating police inspector, Surekha Singh. Harshvardhan Kapoor carries just one expression all through the film; he is okay as Siddharth. Fatima Sana Shaikh is average as Chetna. Satish Kaushik is natural as Bhurelal. Jitendra Joshi is effective as Panna. Sanjay Dadhich (as Kanwar) and Sanjay Bishnoi (as Dhanna) lend fair support. Nivedita Bhattacharya is quite natural as Surekha Singh’s wife. Mukti Mohan and the others lend routine support.
Raj Singh Chaudhary’s direction is very average. He has not been able to make an arresting murder drama. Ajay Jayanthi’s music is functional. Shreya Dev Dube’s camerawork is very good but as the film has been mostly shot in the dark, it does irritate the viewers who have to often strain their eyes to understand what’s happening. Production designing (by Wasiq Khan) and art direction (Disha Dey) are appropriate. Aarti Bajaj’s editing is crisp.
On the whole, Thar fails to entertain or even engage the audience enough. It will not find too many takers.
Released on 6-5-’22 on Netflix.