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‘Thar’, set in the arid desert of Rajasthan near the India-Pakistan border, is a classic example of a revenge tragedy. The desert with bare trees, ruins of ancient forts and non-existent life portrays the dried-up emotions of the protagonists. The beauty of the desert is unpredictable with storms that can collapse life and landscape. The story presents an advent of such an unpredictable, sudden event that follows a saga of crime and punishment, finally ending up in dust.

Set in the year 1985, at a border village called Munabo, the story revolves around a series of murders and two police officers who try to solve the mystery. While there are two different people with different motives for the murders, nothing is clear till the very end. Anil Kapoor plays the role of a cop who tries to do something out of the box throughout his life to get a promotion but fails. Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor is a monstrous murderer who targets villagers for vengeance.

Silence in Harsh Varrdhan’s eyes and words symbolizes his cold-hearted feelings and numbness. Compared to the warm weather of the desert, the characters are pretty cold. This movie justified Shakespeare’s quote that everyone comes from dust and returns to it.

Shreya Dev Dube does an incredible job as a cinematographer. The colour palate accurately depicts the dry weather conditions with close-up shots of the rural population. However, being a period drama one might have expected some more elements keeping the time frame in mind because the frames looked pretty contemporary.

The end is full of bullets and blood that lack clarity. The scenes of torture and murder are so raw that one can’t bear to watch them. The movie showcases the human drama of an abusive husband, smuggling, inter-caste love affairs and stagnant life. The thirsty desert craved for blood and had it.

‘Thar’ is currently streaming on Netflix.

Rating: 3/5

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