Tahalka

About the film

Tahalka (transl. Furore) is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language action adventure film directed by Anil Sharma, featuring an ensemble cast including Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Aditya Pancholi, Javed Jaffrey, Shammi Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Mukesh Khanna, Ekta Sohini, Pallavi Joshi, Sonu Walia, Shikha Swaroop, and Firdaus Dadi (in her acting debut). The film was the fifth highest grosser of 1992 and was declared a Hit by Box Office India. This film was loosely based on Hollywood action adventure films The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare.

Plot

General Dong is the evil dictator of the fictional country, Dongrila. He has kidnapped dozens of school girls and plans to use them as suicide bombers to bomb populated areas in India. He even puts some girls into his personal harem, pushing the remaining ones into prostitution and using them for illegal organ trade. He also carried out the assassination of the chief of the Indian Army, General Sinha. One day, while out for a seaside trip with his daughter, Major Krishna Rao, an officer in the Indian Army, happens to notice an island with his daughter and they find a schoolgirl escaping someone. They try to take her on the boat, but she dies. After leaving Dolly with his trusted servant, Major Rao creeps forward and sees Dong ordering his men to do away with those kids. He calls Dong a clown and other names, and overpowers him, though getting shot in his arm in the process. Making all the girls board the two boats, he takes Dong, tied up on board, but then Dong's men arrive there after abducting Dolly, they manage to free Dong from the chamber. Dong challenges major Rao to come to Dongrila and rescue his daughter within the next year, 12 months from that very day. He chants an eerie verse and cuts off one of Krishna Rao's legs.

After recuperating, Krishna Rao recruits the Indian army officers Captain Ranvir, Captain Rakesh, Captain Javed, Captain Anju and former disgraced Major Dharam Singh, named the group as Force Five. Then he somehow makes Shammi Kapoor, the second senior general and Mr. Iyengar, the committee chairman agree to his plan. They agree on the condition that Krishna' team's victory would be a national victory, but their defeat will be a personal issue. Then Krishna Rao's team starts their journey and they go on a perilous journey between the borders of China and India to rescue Dolly as well as dozens of school girls held in Dong's captivity and destroy Dong's kingdom of Dongrila.

While the Force Five leaves, Brigadier Kapoor is seen betraying them by informing their locations to Capt. Synthia, who works for General Dong. Allah Rakha catches Kapoor red-handed and reprimands him severely. He expresses his regret that an Indian himself is selling the nation to the enemies. While Allah Rakha tries to finish Kapoor, the latter deceitfully shoots him with a pistol through his blazer pocket and kills him, thus wiping out the first crucial witness.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack composed by Anu Malik, with lyrics by Santosh Anand, Hasrat Jaipuri, and Anu Malik himself. The album blends romantic melodies, dramatic themes, and energetic dance numbers, contributing significantly to the film's appeal. The album's diverse range of songs showcases Anu Malik's versatility in blending various musical styles to enhance the film's narrative. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 1,500,000 units sold the soundtrack became the thirteen highest-selling album of the year.

Key details