Gruesome and gory, Kapoor father-son starrer Thar is a revenge drama set in resplendent Rajasthan

Mona

A sordid revenge saga, inspired by the Westerns, is what Raj Singh Chaudhary-directed Thar, streaming on Netflix, is all about. Munabao, a remote, border village in Thar desert, Rajasthan, has suddenly become the site of gruesome killings. The near-retirement police inspector Surekha Singh (Anil Kapoor), with his sidekick Bhure (Satish Kaushik), follow the trail. The needle of suspicion leads them to cross-border drug smuggling racket. Also, the quaint village has a newcomer—Sidharth (Harshvardhan Kapoor), a contractor dealing in antiques.

An ambitious Western’s look and feel works well for this one hour and 48 minutes film, which has been edited well by Aarti Bajaj. The storyline keeps one hooked and the cinematography by Shreya Dev Dube is impressive. Chaudhary, who has also written the film (he wrote and directed Shaadisthan earlier), tries to make most of his home state. Music by Ajay Jayanthi begins on a Western note, turning to folk ever-so-briefly. Background score aids the serious, sedate story as it moves forward. Action scenes are sharp.

When it comes to acting, trust Anil Kapoor to be thorough. You like inspector Surekha Singh; Calendar aka Satish Kaushik meets his Mr India halfway and makes for a befitting aide. Fatima Sana Shaikh’s character is full of spunk and she lives the part well. It’s Harshvardhan Kapoor, who is the lead protagonist. While no doubt, he has worked hard to step into the shoes of rueful Sidharth, one wonders if acting is his strong point. That he was invested in the film from the scratch and has taken it to the release with utmost devotion, makes the producer in him shine. While the dialogues (by Anurag Kashyap) try to establish him as a ‘Hollywood hero’, he sure has worked hard.

A story woven around drugs, caste system, dreams and revenge, Thar still ends on a hopeful note… Friendships stay and life moves on. Gruesome, this thriller is reserved for ones who can stomach blood and gore.