This is one of those films where the setting is the real hero the ‘marusthal’ (desert) stretching as far as the eye can see

Thar has many elements jostling for our attention: a tiny outpost in a border town, a mysterious stranger, a couple of cops, and a series of bodies

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This stunning landscape and the haunting soundscape becomes the site of a ‘bawandar’ (storm), as a principal character describes it

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This film would have been called a spaghetti western in the days when Sholay (1975) was released.

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The filmmakers are aware of how much Thar, set in 1985, reminds us of the OG desi western– a balcony with a woman looking over it

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Meanwhile, we are presented with the most grisly, gruesome scenes of violence, bordering on torture porn.

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The best performance comes from Satish Kaushik: as the lower caste cop whose uniform is a shield in more ways than one , Bhure is one with the ‘thar’.

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