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The Mother of All Lies review – pursuing the truth of Morocco’s brutal dictatorship years

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Asmae El Moudir employs a delicate mix of handmade replicas and oral testimony to brilliantly evoke personal and collective trauma Between those who refuse to remember and those who struggle to forget, a tumultuous clash of minds occupies the centre of Asmae El Moudir’s inventive documentary, a prize-winner at last year’s Cannes film festival. Through a constellation of clay figurines and dollhouse-style miniature sets, most of which were constructed by El Moudir’s father, the director recreates her oppressive childhood in the Sebata district of Casablanca. Under the watchful eyes of her domineering grandmother Zahra, all personal photos are banished from the house, save for a picture of King Hassan II. The delicate mix of handmade replicas and oral testimony brilliantly evokes the personal and collective trauma that stem from Morocco’s “Years of Lead” – a period of state brutality under Hassan II’s dictatorial rule. Lingering on the nimble fingers of El Moudir’s father as he puts t
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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is in trouble – but is it too big to fail?

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It’s on to its third reshoot and has lost two Batmans but is Jason Momoa’s protector of the deep destined for a watery grave? Warning: contains The Flash spoilers Back in the 00s, the idea of making an Aquaman movie was deemed so ridiculous that the Hollywood bro comedy Entourage spent much of its second and third seasons taking the mickey out of the idea . In the end, Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) only agrees to star in the superhero epic because box office king James Cameron signs on to direct it. This, of course, was long before the advent of the Marvel and DC superhero universes, which have since gone on to dominate multiplexes and prove that people really will turn out in their droves to see (for the most part) preposterously entertaining films about spandex-sporting titans as conceptually silly as Shazam!, Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon. During the peak of the comic book movie era, which on recent evidence appears to be long gone, it seemed as if almost any character from the pa
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Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt to head to Kolkata for ‘Dhindhora Baje Re’ song release from Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

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Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt have been busy promoting their upcoming movie Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Billed as a new era of love, the film is helmed by Karan Johar. Three songs from the movie are already out with the fourth song to release on Monday. Titled 'Dhindhora Baje Re', the song has been shot on a mega scale around the theme of Durga Puja. As Alia's character is Bengali, she dances along with Ranveer in this grand scale dance number. A glimpse of it was seen in the trailer of the movie. The two of them will head to Kolkata on Monday for the song release. A day ago, the actors were promoting the movie in Mumbai. They visited a college, followed by a magical evening where singers Jonita Gandhi and Sonu Nigam performed. The music album is composed by Pritam.  Viacom18 Studios and Dharma Productions present A Dharma Productions film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, and Apoorva Mehta is all set to hit
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Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani: CBFC replaces ‘b******d’ with ‘behan di’, ‘bra’ with ‘item’ and Old Monk with ‘Bold Monk’; removes Lok Sabha and Mamata Banerjee’s references

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Karan Johar is all set to release his directorial venture, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, in cinemas next week and all eyes are already on this multi-starrer. The advance booking is expected to open soon and meanwhile, the censor process has been successfully completed. However, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) passed the romantic drama after enforcing certain cuts. To begin with, the abusive word ‘b******d’, used multiple times in the film, was replaced by ‘behan di’. The popular rum brand Old Monk was mentioned in the film and it was changed to ‘Bold Monk’. ‘Lok Sabha’ was also mentioned in a dialogue and the CBFC asked the makers to remove it and not even replace it with any other term. That’s not all. A certain word was replaced with ‘Koi filter’ in the Rabindranath Tagore scene. In the absence of exact detail, its not clear whether or not the mention of the legendary figure has been retained. Then, an entire dialogue about West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta Banerj
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I survived the Barbie-Oppenheimer double-bill and I don’t recommend it

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The internet has become transfixed with the idea of watching Greta Gerwig’s bubblegum comedy next to Christopher Nolan’s dark drama but it proved to be a nightmarish combo ‘Unadulterated joy’: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie brings out the crowds Few things have caught the public imagination in recent years quite like the concept of Barbenheimer . When Warner Bros scheduled the release of Barbie to run in direct opposition to that of Oppenheimer , directed by embittered former employee Christopher Nolan, the natural response was to pick a side. Both films were so diametrically opposed, after all, that the competition took on a slightly tribal air. Just who do you stand for? Drama or comedy? Joy or fear? Female empowerment or the death of tens of thousands of Japanese civilians? But then something bizarre happened. Instead of picking just one film, people started latching onto the idea of seeing Barbie and Oppenheimer together, on the same day, as part of a wildly incongruous double b
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Amitabh Bachchan launches trailer of Anand Pandit’s Gujarati movie Tron Ekka

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Megastar Amitabh Bachchan launched the trailer of producer and good friend Anand Pandit’s upcoming Gujarati movie Tron Ekka on his official Twitter page. He captioned the tweet, “T 4711 - The Terrific Trio is back again with hilarious rib-tickling comedy. Get ready to get your mind blown. Wishing my dear friend @anandpandit63 loads of success.” Sharing his bond with Bachchan, Anand Pandit said in a statement, “He willingly decided to do a cameo in my last Gujarati film, Fakt Mahilao Maate and took the audience by complete surprise. But even if he is not on-screen in one of my productions, his constant support and encouragement mean a lot to me. I couldn't be happier that he has launched the trailer of this very special film.” Directed by Rajesh Sharma, Tron Ekka stars Yash Soni, Malhar Thakar and Mitra Gadhvi in pivotal roles, along with Hitu Kanodiya, Kinjal Rajpriya, Esha Kansara, Tarjanee Bhadla, Chetan Daiya. T 4711 - The Terrific Trio is back again with hilarious rib-tickli
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Jaswant Singh Khalra Biopic makers oppose CBFC's 21 cuts; Bombay High Court to continue arguments today

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The upcoming biopic on Jaswant Singh Khalra, which will star Diljit Dosanjh in the lead role while Arjun Rampal appears in a crucial role, has been in the headlines quite for a time now ever since the production company RSVP Movies, filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court seeking orders against the CBFC for the cuts that were asked to be done for releasing the film. In the latest update, the hearing that happened yesterday in the court, RSVP presented the remaining cuts and the court has asked to come today to complete the argument at 02:30 PM again. As the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) cleared the film with an A certificate and asked makers for 21 cuts which includes the removal of certain dialogues, the movie's disclaimer, and its title and RSVP Movies by Ronnie Screwvala filed an appeal to the Bombay High Court under Section 5C of the Cinematograph Act, arguing that the cuts violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution and that the cuts were not covered un
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Oppenheimer review – Nolan’s atom bomb epic is flawed but extraordinary

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Christopher Nolan’s account of the physicist who led the Manhattan Project captures the most agonising of success stories The wartime Soviet intelligence services had a codename for the Manhattan Project, the US’s plan to build an atom bomb: Enormoz . Christopher Nolan’s new film about it is absolutely Enormoz , maybe his most enormoz so far: a gigantic, post-detonation study, a PTSD narrative procedure filling the giant screen with a million agonised fragments that are the shattered dreams and memories of the project’s haunted, complex driving force, J Robert Oppenheimer, a brilliant physicist with the temperament of an artist who gave humanity the means of its own destruction. The main event is that terrifying first demonstration: the Trinity nuclear test in the New Mexico desert in July 1945, when Oppenheimer is said to have silently pondered (and later intoned on TV) Vishnu’s lines from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds …” C
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It’s a boy! Arjun Rampal and Gabriella Demetriades welcome their second child

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Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal and his girlfriend, South African model and designer Gabriella Demetriades, have been blessed with a bundle of joy as they welcomed their second child, a baby boy, on Thursday night. The elated couple shared the heartwarming news with their fans and well-wishers through a heartwarming Instagram post. The 50-year-old actor took to his Instagram handle to make the much-awaited announcement. He wrote, "My family and I are blessed with a beautiful baby boy today. Mother and son are both doing well. Thank you to the wonderful team of doctors and nurses. We are over the moon. Thank you for all your love and support. #helloworld #20.07.2023."   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Arjun Rampal (@rampal72) The news immediately garnered an outpouring of love and congratulations from fans, friends, and fellow celebrities. In the comments section, Gabriella Demetriades expressed her gratitude, writing, "Thank you, everyone." Actor Bo
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Bhumi Pednekar to be honoured with Disruptor Award at IFFM 2023; says, "I strive to live a life of impact"

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Actress Bhumi Pednekar will be conferred with the prestigious Disruptor Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023. In her career, she has etched a strong position for herself as a powerhouse performer working on films with strong subjects that matter. In addition, this recognition will also be for her relentless commitment to addressing climate change and promoting sustainability. The award will be presented to the actor on the festival's opening day, August 11. The 34-year-old actress has solidified her position as one of the most socially-aware actors in the industry, consistently leveraging her platform and influence to bring about positive change. As a staunch climate warrior, she has used her wide reach and power as an actor to amplify the importance of confronting climate change and the reality that we confront today. As part of the recognition, Pednekar will be engaging in a special fireside chat with a live audience on sustainability, further cementing her role
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Ticket rates of Oppenheimer in IMAX screens to remain high until Sunday, July 30; expected to come down to normal levels from July 31 depending on demand

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Bollywood Hungama was the first one to report that PVR Lower Parel, Mumbai has set a record by selling tickets of Oppenheimer’s IMAX version for Rs. 2450. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the period drama has generated tremendous demand, especially in the IMAX screens. With just 5 IMAX theatres in and around Mumbai, the exhibitors decided to hike up the rates considerably. At the Lower Parel cinema, the normal row tickets are priced at Rs. 760 and 960 for morning and post-midnight shows and Rs. 1160 and Rs. 1360 for all shows after 3:00 pm. The rates for recliner seats for morning shows are Rs. 1850 and a record Rs. 2450 for the later shows. Interestingly, the most expensive ticket for Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022) in this theatre was Rs. 1750. Even in other IMAX screens in Mumbai, Oppenheimer’s cheapest tickets start from Rs. 700. The same is the case in Delhi though Bengaluru is cheaper. Pune has just one IMAX screen and taking advantage of it, the cheapest ticket is priced at Rs. 10
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