The plot is quite simple. Ajay Devgan is part of the Bombay mafia - he meets Tabu - falls in love - and wants to get out of the underworld and start a decent life. The difference was the direction, screenplay and the music.
Govind Nihalani has made a really slow paced movie - but it is never boring. With a lot of slow motion scenes interweaved with the actual storyline the movie moves at anything but a fast pace. However no bit of the movie is boring, superfluous or unnecessary (apart from a couple of songs at the end - but someones got to please the masses).
All the characters put in a great performance - not the least being Tabu and Ajay. There were some good songs but by the end of the movie they seemed out of place.
All in all Thakshak is a different action movie. Not too much gruesome violence but with a lot more intensity and power in the dialogues and in the acting. I would easily give it a 9/10.