Western cinema is a genre that is often set on the American frontier during the last part of the 19th century (1865-1900).  There is a common theme that runs throughout this type of genre, which makes it easier to distinguish it from other genres. It often portrays the wilderness and a set up that includes horses, saloons, desolated landscapes, deserts and mountains. Western films commonly feature protagonists such as cowboys, gunslingers, and bounty hunters. The use of sound and music also play an important role in the western films. Films like, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Red River, etc. are some of the prime examples of the western film genre.
Western films are generally big budget films, which include a majority of male actors wearing very distinctive western clothing such as denims, boots, hats and jeans, who are law breakers and are often shown riding on horses. They are normally masculine persons of integrity and principle – courageous, moral, tough, solid and self-sufficient, possessing an independent and honorable attitude.

This genre was also adopted by the foreign markets and they started making their own western. As a result, genres such as Spaghetti genre, Curry Genre, etc. emerged. “Sholay” is one of the examples of the Curry Western, it shows the influence of western genre on the Indian Cinema.
Later on, one could also see a little modernization in the western films when there were more female leads, and how there were cars and automobiles instead of horses and the use of rifles instead of old school pistols and guns which can be seen in the film “Thelma and Louis”.