It seems that the aesthetics of Western are having an impact in Hindi cinema nowadays, since after “Gangubai”, “Thar” also implements a similar approach, and even more intently one could say, particularly due to the story and the action here, which also moves towards noir, exploitation and thriller paths.
The story takes place in 1985 in the northern border of India, mostly in Munabao, a small town where Sureka Singh is the chief inspector. As the movie begins, a number of gunmen start shooting the place, while the tortured corpse of a man is found hanging from a tree. Sureka believes the instigators are either dacoit bandits or opium smugglers, since the area bordering Pakistan is infested with them. Along with his deputy, Bhur, he investigates but the case is proven more complicated than he initially thought. The appearance of Siddharth, a young and handsome man who is looking for some literate men to take back for some work in Delhi complicates things, since Panna, the cunning “leader” of a group of men from the village soon goes missing, while Siddharth comes closer to Panna's wife Kesar, causing much talk in the village. If that was not enough, the inspector is also targeted by Hanif Khan, the boss of a rough-and-tumble bunch who are camped in the desert hills outside Munabao.
Raj Singh Chaudhary creates an unusual thriller, particularly for Hindi cinema, since there is no whodunit question here, as Siddharth's guilt is revealed quite quickly, with his scenes taking a rather violent, exploitation-type hypostasis, as torture is their main ingredient. As such, the why and the how he will proceed emerges as the question here, in a rather appealing, even if somewhat expected approach that inevitably has to do with revenge. The concept of “the stranger” is combined artfully with “the veteran cop” one, with the antithesis between the two protagonists working excellently here, particularly since, despite their many antitheses, their overall demeanor, of men with few words, is quite similar. This aspect also benefits the most by the acting, with father and son Anil Kapoor as Inspector Surekha Singh and Harshvardhan Kapoor as Siddharth Kumar giving very fitting performances, even if the former is definitely on a higher level.
The comments about the ways people in small remote societies live are interesting, as much as the ones about veteran policemen doing their duty or just standing back and just waiting for their pension. Lastly, in terms of context, the criticism of focusing on revenge is also presented here, in a cliche but still entertaining approach.
At the same time, the movie is quite action heavy, with the desolate setting giving many opportunities for neo-western type of sequences, the majority of which are quite impressive, showcasing the excellent work of DPs Shreya Dev Dube, Jay Oza and Swapnil Sonawane as much as Aarti Bajaj's editing, which finds its apogee here. Regarding this last element, however, the overall pace is a bit faulty, also due to the way the flashbacks are implemented, in a way that actually detracts from the impact they could have. On the other hand, the cinematography overall is definitely top notch throughout the movie, both in the interior and the exterior and particularly the panoramic shots, while the Hollywood-like coloring (again as in “Gangubali”) definitely works excellently, especially due to the nature of the movie.
Women, as is usual in these types of films, do not play a particularly significant role, although Sureka's wife, and rather sensual on occasion Fatima Sana Shaikh as Kesar steal the show on a few occasions, even if that the movie is chiefly addressed to men is evident throughout.
“Thar” has its issues, and at times it seems that Chaudhary needed a bit more time to present all his arcs more eloquently (or fewer arcs if you prefer), but the general sense the movie emits is of a visually impressive and quite entertaining movie, that will appeal particularly to fans of exploitation and western action.
