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The Last Duel, Rape She Says, He Says…..
The Last Duel(Disney-Hotstar)
Starring Matt Damon,Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck
Directed by Ridley Scott
Rating: *** ½
There is probably a greater film submerged in this good film. We will never know.Just as we will never know if Marguerite de Carrouges, the noblewoman who is played with a seductive sublimity by the underrated British actress Jodie Comer, was really raped by her husband’s former friend and soldier colleague.
Was she brutally raped , as she claims, or was there some kind of a come-hither invitation, some sort of pleasurable plug-point during the plunder as we saw in Paul Verhoeven’s disturbing French film Elle where Isabelle Rupert looks forward to a revisit from her masked marauder.
In The Last Duel, the great Ridley Scott has constructed a slippery edifice teetering dangerously on the border between truth and conjecture. Recalling one of the earliest reported cases of rape, it examines the sensitivities of the issue and the intricacies of the court hearing in a tone that is sometimes luminous, sometimes labored.
It is as though director Ridley Scott WANTS to believe in his heroine’s truth. But is not fully convinced. A part of the problem is Matt Damon’s flabby interpretation of the husband Sir Jean de Carrouges who is righteous but dull, agile but frumpy, and most inept in bed. His friend turned foe as played by Adam Driver is a complete ladies’ man who is known to seduce woman like other men behead their enemies on the battlefield.
You can’t cast Driver against Damon and expect the audience to pitch for the latter.
So what really happened between Marguerite and Jacques Le Gris? Did he really fuck her against her will?She says he did, He says he did not. Three different interpretations of the truth are compiled into a compelling drama of amorous ambivalence. Jacques goes to his eventual death swearing on God there was no rape while Marguerite remains steadfast in her accusation.
Based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager and set in medieval France, The Last Duel is a wannabe masterpiece that stops short of attaining its full power and glory by dint of its ambivalence.
Does rape become consent if the woman obtains sexual pleasure in the violent act?
These are not questions that could be asked, let alone answered, in any civilized society.To his credit Ridley Scott takes no shortcuts, offers no easy solution to the problem which plagues the plot both organically and extrinsically. While the three main characters grapple with the issue in their conscience and in the court of King Charles V1(played with infantile imperiousness by Alex Lawther) the three protagonists fight their own private battles.
A shroud of uncertainty covers this remarkable but fatally flawed film. Can a film on a historic rape case from the 14th century be put on screen without the writers(Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon) and director taking sides? Apparently, it can. The Last Duel gets away with a far-from-conclusive projection of the alleged rape. It doesn’t bother to be politically correct. It looks at male predatoriness as a routine act, and hence excusable.
There is a strangely supine tug ‘o’ war played out between Marguerite and her mother-in-law(played by the brilliant veteran British actress Harriet Walter). In it , we see what is clearly the problem with women: it is not the men but the women themselves who can’t support one another .
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Why On Earth Is Sushmita Sen Smoking A Cigar In Aarya’s First Look?

Season 3 of Aarya is being shot as you read this, and naturally Sushmita Sen is super-kicked about it, so kicked that she has put out a video where she is seen in the best Lady Boss version of herself.
Alarmingly, she is seen puffing away at a cigar, to complete her Badass Lady Boss image.
There was a time when women smoking cigarettes in Hindi cinema signaled vampishness. If a female actor was shown smoking it meant she had evil designs over the hero, and life in general.
Sushmita being Sushmita, a cigarette won’t do. A cigar it is, to go with her formidable image. The last Bollywood actor I saw smoking a cigar on screen was Premnath in the 1970s. Back then so many people didn’t die of cancer by smoking.
These are different far more dangerous and deadly times.
Sushmita is an iconic actor.She needs to be more careful about the image she projects . Smoking a cigar doesn’t enhance a woman’s(or a man’s) muscle power. Nor does it make her look cool.
About shooting for the third season of Aarya Sushmita says, “Aarya is synonymous with my name. I have lived as Aarya for two whole seasons and the love received by the audiences has only encouraged me to do more. Walking on the sets of Aarya Season 3 makes me feel at home and gives me a sense of empowerment. I’m grateful to the entire team at Disney+ Hotstar, Ram Madhvani Films and Endemol Shine India for the vision of creating Aarya and taking it to newer heights with every season.”
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Shah Rukh, Deepika, John Will Meet The Media On Monday At 4 pm(But There’s A Catch)

Pathaan has effectually discredited the efficacy of media interactions to promote a film. The film’s lead actors Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham did not conduct any press or portal interviews to promote the film.
And yet Pathaan is a blockbuster.
This weekend the Pathaan producer Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films took a call on behalf of the Pathaan team to do one media meet at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai on Monday January 30 at 4 pm.
The three principal actors and director Siddharth Malhotra will address the media.
But here’s the catch: the media will not be allowed to ask any questions. There will be no Q& A s or one-on-one interactions.This basically means that the Pathaan team will have an opportunity to say what it wants to the media. But the media will have no say.
Make what you will of this one-way traffic.
A source close to Yash Raj informs me that this is the pattern regarding the media that Yash Raj will follow for future releases: no press meets no promotional engagements.
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Fake Projects of Pathaan Director Being Planted In Media

Siddharth Anand Denies Considering Any Project With Deepak Mukut
A word of caution to those marketing and publicity wizkids who think it’s okay to plant fake stories on (fake) projects with the Pathaan director.
It is not.
Such baseless announcements are meant only to raise the equity of the producers with whom Siddharth Anand’s name is linked. One such producer whose name has cropped up after the spectacular success of Pathaan is Deepak Mukut.
There were reports everywhere that Siddharth Anand’s next would be with Mukut.
Turned out to be a false rumour.
A source in the know informs, “Siddharth now has to complete Fighter starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone for Yash Raj.Then he is committed to direct the sequel to War 2 for Yash Raj films. They will then start work on the next film in the Pathaan franchise. There is no scope or room for any outside projects for Siddharth Anand. So every announcement that you read of a new film to be directed by Siddharth Anand for an outside producer is likely to be a hundred percent fake.”
When I asked Siddharth Anand about the supposed project with producer Deepak Mukut he promptly replied, “NOT AT ALL.”
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Pink Director’s Next Featuring Yami As A Crime Reporter To Stream From February 16

Anniruddha Roy Chowdhury whose Pink featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu was one of the most important films of 2016, is all set to release his next Hindi film.
Entitled Lost, Anniruddha’s film , based on true events, will see Yami Gautam Dhar(that’s what the actress calls herself after her marriage) as a crime journalist. LOST is an emotional social thriller that represents a higher quest, a search for lost values of empathy and integrity.
Inspired by true events, Lost is a story of a bright young woman crime reporter in her relentless search for the truth behind the sudden disappearance of a young theatre activist.

Lost
Says Aniruddha “The shoot of LOST has been an incredible journey. I have been eager for the release of our hard-worked venture. The film is a realistic highlight of media in a social context and I am sure that it will give the audience a compelling watch. I am curious about its release and see the responses it shall get. I hope they will welcome it with open hearts.”
Yami Gautam Dhar who plays the lead of the crime reporter says, “I can’t be happier and more proud of the film’s selection for the opening night at CSAFF. I feel like its one that the people will connect to and will be the one that you cannot miss, especially in the current age and time. I have loved playing this role because it was such a special experience, it allowed me to explore so many layers of emotions as an actor and the entire team has worked really hard on it. I genuinely cannot wait for the film’s release, especially to see the reactions of the audience to it.”
The crime investigation drama boasts a stellar cast. Along with Yami, the film will feature Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and an ensemble of younger talent, including Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpai, and Tushar Pandey, in pivotal roles.
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