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Vikram Vedha
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Eventually it all boils down to the strength of the original concept, the well-etched, ethically complicated characters, the fast-moving action and lithe camerawork...
Posted Oct 17, 2022
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Goodbye
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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The platforming of an inclusive, liberal Hinduism becomes concurrently about giving it the leg up over others. From the sassy to the sanskari, Goodbye parallels the march of the times.
Posted Oct 17, 2022
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Dobaaraa
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Not a signature Anurag Kashyap film, but enjoyable with Taapsee's amazing performance.
Posted Oct 17, 2022
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Chup
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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It surely left me asking for more...
Posted Oct 17, 2022
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Darlings
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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The cast of Darlings makes it a riveting watch. Varma is terrifying and Roshan Mathew as believable as the tender man. Ultimately, it’s all in the hands of the forever solid & reliable Shah and Bhatt...
Posted Aug 09, 2022
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Crimes of the Future
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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The opening sequence of the maestro’s new film, Crimes of the Future shows him in a different, tad mellower frame of mind. That deviation in the mood suffuses the rest of the film as well.
Posted Aug 09, 2022
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Shamshera
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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I would have still forgiven all and been patient with the film had it not been so highly soporific. The mythmaking and fantasy and a Robinhood saga of an outlaw is criminally and infinitely boring.
Posted Aug 09, 2022
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Forensic
(2020)
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Namrata Joshi
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Forensic strays far away from the original with a new set of gimmicky twists and ludicrous turns.
Posted Jun 28, 2022
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Samrat Prithviraj
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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All other quibbles aside, Samrat Prithviraj is most interesting but concurrently unconvincing in its contrived feminist reinterpretation of the times, particularly in the light of the practice of sati.
Posted Jun 28, 2022
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Close
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Close is artistically ambitious. Like a cinematic symphony, a musical piece in perfect harmony, not a note out of place.
Posted Jun 28, 2022
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Thar
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Thar is a film that lives up to its name. The Great Indian Desert is the real protagonist of Raj Singh Chaudhury’s film. Beyond the eerie vistas and ominous landscape, there is little more to the film.
Posted May 27, 2022
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Joyland
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Joyland marks a strong debut, not just for its director Saim Sadiq but for Pakistani cinema at large at the Cannes Film Festival.
Posted May 26, 2022
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Sharmaji Namkeen
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Sharmaji Namkeen isn’t just a lovely sendoff for Kapoor, it’s essentially a story full of heart and soul, hope and happiness.
Posted May 03, 2022
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Jersey
(2019)
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Namrata Joshi
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It is the needless insertion of a medical twist, in what feels like an afterthought of an end that takes away from whatever fire there is in the film’s belly and turns it into more saccharine sentiments than sporting spirit.
Posted May 03, 2022
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K.G.F: Chapter 2
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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So where does it leave the women? Well, at the service of the gigantic macho project.
Posted May 03, 2022
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Dasvi
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Mounted like an amateurish school play, Dasvi is like a vast stretch of dullness, wearying and annoying by turn.
Posted May 03, 2022
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Runway 34
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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One wishes that with some artistic ambition and imagination it had gathered better speed and altitude. Alas, it seems in more of a hurry to touch down and land than keep soaring high.
Posted Apr 29, 2022
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Jersey
(undefined)
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Namrata Joshi
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An engaging, if protracted watch.
Posted Apr 27, 2022
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Jhund
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Nagraj Manjule’s take on entrenched social iniquities and prejudices has an exhilarating flourish and pulsating energy that marks a new narrative departure for familiar “triumph of the underdog” trope.
Posted Mar 14, 2022
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Gangubai Kathiawadi
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Alia Bhatt nails it with elan in this grand melodramatic spectacle by Bhansali.
Posted Mar 14, 2022
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Writing with Fire
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Writing With Fire is not just an empathetic look at women who are breaking the barriers...It is also a masterclass for aspiring young journalists, a refresher course for the seniors and a much-needed shot of inspiration for the weary and cynical brigade.
Posted Mar 14, 2022
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Gehraiyaan
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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It’s a tingling triangle in which everyone is a casualty but not quite culpable and is made persuasive with the gravitas which a veteran like Naseeruddin Shah lends to the role.
Posted Feb 18, 2022
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Badhaai Do
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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What it does do within the confines of family film is push the envelope of gay representation a few notches further and that too more assuredly.
Posted Feb 18, 2022
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Looop Lapeta
(2022)
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Namrata Joshi
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Ultimately, it all boils down to taking things in your own control than letting coincidences guide life. It’s about returning to the family; however dysfunctional it might be.
Posted Feb 08, 2022
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Titane
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Julia Ducournau tests the limits of the viewer, is persistently provocative. But she also wrings your heart with lines swarming with grief, with pain.
Posted Feb 01, 2022
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The Power of the Dog
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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While The Piano remains a haunting exploration of female desire, The Power of the Dog is a long-delayed contemplation on masculinity from the female eye, both about repression and control.
Posted Jan 18, 2022
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Chhorii
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Chhorii is certainly no Rosemary's Baby. It uses all the expected cliches of horror in expected ways and ends up boring the audience than frightening them.
Posted Jan 03, 2022
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83
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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No wonder 83 felt to me like a certain way of life that we seem to be unable to hold on to now. A piece of nostalgia that made me face up to a steady sense of loss of basic human goodness and dignity.
Posted Jan 03, 2022
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Bunty Aur Babli 2
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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The original worked because it could log into the dreams, ambitions and suffocations of small-town youth of North India. That demographic has aged, and the film doesn't know how to carry on with them.
Posted Jan 03, 2022
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Meenakshi Sundareshwar
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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A film that is likeable in parts but not so much as to make you root for it.
Posted Jan 03, 2022
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Pebbles
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Pebbles gives us a bird's eye-view of a parched world that's sublime in its unashamed starkness even as Vinothraj jolts you with the many riches that lurk in his cinematic simplicity and bareness.
Posted Oct 25, 2021
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No Time to Die
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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The last with Daniel Craig in the lead, the film brings together the various aspects of his nonconformist interpretation of James Bond in a most satisfying way.
Posted Oct 19, 2021
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Sardar Udham
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Shoojit Sircar's biopic of the patriot is a stunning slice of history mirroring our fractious present and cautioning us about the pitfalls of the future.
Posted Oct 19, 2021
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Rashmi Rocket
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Unfortunately, Rashmi Rocket is a sum total of some badly handled moments and sloppily mounted scenes, their cringe value further accentuated by bad acting.
Posted Oct 19, 2021
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Hungama 2
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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I watched the more than 2.5 hour long, so-called comedy, over five hours. That too with a straight face.
Posted Oct 18, 2021
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Thalaivii
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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The film is more gimmickry than realpolitik.
Posted Sep 29, 2021
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Ankahi Kahaniya
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Ankahi Kahaniya, the latest Netflix anthology comprising three short films directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Abhishek Chaubey and Saket Chaudhary fails to live up to its name.
Posted Sep 20, 2021
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Bell Bottom
(2019)
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Namrata Joshi
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The film is centred entirely on Kumar much to the detriment of everyone and everything else. Even the prime-movers of the plot...
Posted Aug 27, 2021
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Chehre
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Chehre doesn't know what it essentially wants to be-a mystery, a courtroom drama, a moral science lesson, a vigilante saga or a political speech...
Posted Aug 27, 2021
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Bellbottom
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Even the climax plays out flat, tame and listless what with the mission accomplished thanks to the weather than the bravura of the masterminds... The film feels like a diplomatic charm offensive.
Posted Aug 23, 2021
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Shershaah
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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The affable and brave personality like Captain Batra becomes a mode to peddle patriotism in much the same facile way in which the country itself has lately come to understand nationalism.
Posted Aug 16, 2021
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Mimi
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Kriti Sanon makes her mark in this otherwise mediocre film about surrogacy...
Posted Jul 30, 2021
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Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Little Palestine is a devastating account of people humiliated, homeless and hungry beyond imagination.
Posted Jul 21, 2021
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Toofaan
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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I couldn't fathom why Toofan was made? To have Farhan Akhtar to work out and get a certain look for the titular role? To revisit all the usual cliches of a sports film?
Posted Jul 21, 2021
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Haseen Dillruba
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Over the top humour abounds in systematically placed comic set-pieces and there are blazing colours and kitsch. All to make the small town seem uber cool.
Posted Jul 02, 2021
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Sherni
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Vidya Balan is effortless in leading from the front. As is the band of men surrounding her. But the authentic texture in Sherni eventually comes from the earthiness of the unknown locals...
Posted Jun 30, 2021
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Mr. Bachmann and His Class
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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It's impossible to imagine that a documentary would be able to hold you in thrall for its 3 hours 37 minutes long duration. But Maria Speth's Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse manages to accomplish exactly that.
Posted May 21, 2021
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Nayattu
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Prakkat contextualises it deftly in election-time Kerala and very cleverly so in the world of the upholders of law...
Posted May 21, 2021
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Nomadland
(2020)
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Namrata Joshi
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Chloe Zhao's Nomadland mimics life scrupulously...
Posted May 18, 2021
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Judas and the Black Messiah
(2021)
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Namrata Joshi
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Gifted as Hampton was with rare oratorial skills, the film on his life also tries to spin magic with his words...
Posted May 18, 2021
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