With a production budget of ₹180 crore (US$26.32 million)–₹190 crore (US$27.78 million), Padmaavat is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.[4][5][6] Initially scheduled for release on 1 December 2017, the film faced numerous controversies. Amid violent protests, its release was indefinitely delayed. The Central Board of Film Certification later approved the film with few changes, which includes the addition of multiple disclaimers and a change from its original title Padmavati.[9][10] It was rescheduled for release on 25 January 2018 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D formats, making it the first Indian film to be released in IMAX 3D.[11]
Upon release, Padmaavat received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for the visuals, costume design, cinematography, screenplay, soundtrack, and performances, but criticism for its pacing, runtime, and adherence to regressivepatriarchal mores.[12] Critics also disliked the portrayal of Khilji as a stereotypical evil Muslim king and Ratan Singh as the righteous Hindu king, which led to protests by the respective religious communities.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Despite not being released in some states of India, it grossed over ₹571.98 crore (US$69 million) at the box office, becoming a major commercial success and the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2018.[20][21]
In 13th-century Afghanistan, Khilji ruler, Jalal-ud-din Khilji plans to take over the throne of Delhi. His nephew Alauddin Khilji[24] asks for Jalaluddin's daughter Mehrunisa's hand in marriage. Their wedding is organised, but on the night of the event, Alauddin engages in adultery with another woman. A senior courtier witnesses the act, Shareef Pasha, and is promptly killed by Alauddin. Mehrunisa is informed of this during the wedding, leaving her horrified. The wedding occurs, and Alauddin is appointed as a lead general in Jalalauddin's army.
In Singhal, princess Padmavati accidentally wounds the Rajputi ruler of Mewar, Maharawal Ratan Singh, while hunting in a forest. As she treats him, he reveals that he has traveled to Sinhala to acquire rare pearls for his only wife Nagmati. Eventually, the two bond and fall in love. Ratan Singh asks for Padmavati's hand in marriage, she agrees, and with permission from her father, they are married.
Jalaluddin takes over the throne of Delhi and sends Alauddin to repel a Mongol invasion. Alauddin is successful in doing so, but undertakes an unsanctioned raid on Devagiri. He captures the princess there, and makes her his concubine. Jalaluddin's wife and nephew, Itaat Khan, warns him against Alauddin's ambition to take over the throne. However, he journeys to Kara to meet Alauddin and gifts him the slave Malik Kafur. Alauddin has Jalalauddin's ministers assassinated by Malik Kafur, and Jalalauddin is killed by one of Alauddin's generals. Alauddin then returned to Delhi and declared himself the new Sultan. Over time, Alauddin and Kafur become very close, and Kafur rises to become a general in Alauddin's army.
Padmavati journeys to Mewar with Ratan Singh and is blessed by his royal priest, Raghav Chetan. Chetan later intrudes into the palace secretly and spies upon an intimate moment between Ratan and Padmavati, and is subsequently banished. He then travels to Delhi and informs Alauddin of Padmavati's beauty. Alauddin, who is fixated with having anything that is exceptional, invites the Rajputs to Delhi, but his invitation is rejected. Enraged, he lays siege to Ratan Singh's capital Chittor. After six months of an unsuccessful siege, Alauddin feigns peace on account of Holi and is allowed to enter Chittor, where he meets Ratan Singh. He asks to see Padmavati; Ratan Singh grants this request, but only momentarily while preventing Alauddin from seeing her face. Ratan Singh is tricked by Khilji and is taken to Delhi as a prisoner.
Upon Queen Nagmati's insistence, Padmavati agrees to see Alauddin under some conditions: she will meet Ratan first, there would be no male guardians during their meet and Chetan will be executed for his earlier treachery. Alauddin agrees; Padmavati then travels to Delhi to meet him. Meanwhile, Alauddin survives an assassination plot by his nephew, though he is wounded. When his nephew visits him recovering in bed to finish him off, Alauddin awakens and kills him. The Rajputs, disguised in women's dress, plan to ambush the Khilji soldiers in the morning, at the time for morning namāz. Padmavati, along with Chittor's generals, Gora and Badal, frees Ratan Singh, and escapes with Mehrunisa's help. Ratan confronts Alauddin, who urges Ratan to take this opportunity to kill him in his weakened state. However, Ratan refuses as this is against the Rajput creed of not attacking the wounded. The Rajput ambush goes ahead as planned, but the Khilji soldiers are alerted to it and repulse the attack, killing the Rajputs who allow the King and Queen to escape.
Alauddin imprisons Mehrunisa for helping the Rajputs and marches to Chittor. He and Ratan Singh engage in a single duel; Alauddin is wounded and drops his sword, Ratan is about to kill him when Kafur takes the opportunity to mortally wound Ratan while his back is turned with arrows. While dying, he berates Alauddin and his forces for fighting dishonorably. The much larger Khilji army defeats the scattered Rajputs and captures Chittor, but are unable to capture the Rajput women who perform Jauhar (mass suicide by immolation) along with Padmavati, rendering Alauddin's quest a failure and leaving him furious.
Cast
Deepika Padukone as Padmavati – a 13th–14th century[25] legendary Rajput queen, who was, according to Padmaavat, the wife of Rajput king Ratan Singh (also known as Ratan Sen), the ruler of Mewar. The news of Padmavati's beauty reached Sultan Alauddin Khilji, who besieged Singh's capital, Chittor, motivated by his desire to capture the queen.
Shahid Kapoor as Ratan Singh – the last Rajput ruler of the Guhila dynasty that ruled the kingdom of Mewar. He was defeated by Alauddin Khilji's forces during the siege of Chittor.
Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji – the second and most powerful ruler of the Khilji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate.[26][27] He ascended the throne by murdering his paternal uncle and father-in-law, Sultan Jalal-ud-Din Khalji.[28] According to Padmaavat, Khilji laid siege to Chittor motivated by his desire to capture Ratan Singh's beautiful wife, Padmavati.
Raza Murad as Jalal-ud-Din Khalji[33] – the founder and first Sultan of the Khilji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate. He was deposed by his nephew and son-in-law Alauddin, who murdered his uncle to usurp the throne.[34]
Anupriya Goenka as Nagmati[35] – the first wife and chief queen of Ratan Singh according to Padmaavat.[36] Nagmati and her husband's second wife, Padmavati, performed jauhar together after Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittor.[37]
Pre-production on the film began in July 2016. That same month, playback singer Shreya Ghoshal tweeted about performing a song composed by Bhansali for the film.[48] Many media outlets speculated that Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, who played the leads in Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Bajirao Mastani (2015), were finalised to play Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji in the film. In October 2016, it was announced that Bhansali would team up with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures to produce the film with Singh and Padukone along with Shahid Kapoor as Rawal Ratan Singh, playing the lead roles.[49]
Casting
The three main actors, Padukone (top), Kapoor (centre) and Singh (bottom).
Shah Rukh Khan was offered the role of Rawal Ratan Singh but felt it was not "meaty" enough and declined; failure to agree on his fee may have been a factor.[52] Bhansali offered the role to Sushant Singh Rajput, but he had to turn down the role over scheduling issues.[53][54] Shahid Kapoor was finally cast with an assurance of a good enough part and a hefty fee.[55] For his role, Kapoor undertook rigorous training under trainer Samir Jaura and followed a strict diet for 40 days. He also learnt sword fighting and the basics of Mardani khel, a weapon-based martial art, and admitted that it had been one of the most physically and emotionally challenging roles of his career.[56]
Ranveer Singh portrays the antagonist of the film, Alauddin Khilji, the first negative role of his career.[57] Director Bhansali had given him books to read delving into the psyche of dark rulers of history such as Adolf Hitler, asserting that he had to completely forget who he was before he could play Khilji.[58] Singh trained under Mustafa Ahmed to get into proper shape for the role. The actor worked out twice a day for six days a week.[59] Playing Khilji affected Singh's personality and behaviour such that he had to see a psychiatrist to return to normal.[60]
Jaya Bachchan recommended Aditi Rao Hydari's name to Bhansali for the role of Khilji's first wife, Mehrunisa.[29][61][62] Bhansali cast Hydari over four other choices.[63] She is the only member of the star cast who actually belongs to a royal lineage.[64]
Raza Murad portrays Alauddin's paternal uncle and Khilji dynasty founder, Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji. Murad has earlier collaborated with Bhansali in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani.[65]Jim Sarbh portrays Malik Kafur, a prominent eunuch slave-general of Alauddin Khilji.[66] Sarbh learned horse-riding for the role.[67]
On 25 October 2017, a video of the first song from the film, titled "Ghoomar", was released, in which a woman dressed like a queen appeared briefly. It was later revealed in a Twitter fan page of Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, that the woman is Maharawal Ratan Singh's first wife, Rani Nagmati, who is portrayed by Anupriya Goenka.[68]
Delhi-based Rimple and Harpreet Narula designed Rani Padmavati's costume using traditional Gota embroidery work of Rajasthan. The border derives from the architectural details of Rajasthani palace windows and jharokhas and the odhnis have been styled in conventional ways which are still prevalent in the Mewar belt of Rajasthan.[70] The designer duo elaborated that the costume worn by Padukone in the final scene of the film features the tree-of-life motif and twisted gota embroidery and has a Kota dupatta with block printing. Padukone's dresses were made with Sinhalese influences, as the character of Padmavati hailed from Sri Lanka.[71]
Padukone's look for the "Ghoomar" song features intricate jewellery weighing up to 3 kg (6.6 lb) designed by Tanishq featuring a triple Borla, Mathapatti and Bajuband which are traditional ornaments worn by Rajasthani women.[76]
Vipul Amar and Harsheen Arora of Delhi-based design house 'The V Renaissance' designed costumes for Rawal Ratan Singh and Alauddin Khilji, employing historical techniques to create the armour such as cuirboilli, sculpting, chiselling, and inlaying.[77] The armour took a team of forty workers a total of eight months to prepare.[78]
The score of Padmaavat is composed by Sanchit Balhara, while the songs are composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A. M. Turaz and Siddharth-Garima wrote the lyrics to the songs. The first song "Ghoomar", to which Padukone performs the traditional Rajasthani folk dance on a set that replicates the interior of Chittorgarh Fort,[79][80] was released on 26 October 2017.[81] The second song from the film "Ek Dil Ek Jaan", a love ballad featuring Padukone and Kapoor, was released on 19 November.[82] The complete soundtrack was released by the record label T-Series[83] on 6 January 2018 in Hindi, and 12 January in Tamil and Telugu.[84]
Padmaavat was mired in controversies during its production. Several Rajput caste organisations including Shri Rajput Karni Sena and its members had protested and later vandalised the film sets claiming that the film portrays Padmavati, a Rajput queen, in bad light. They had also assaulted Bhansali on a film set.[85][86] The Sena had made further threats of violence.[87] While filming a scene in Masai Plateau, Kolhapur at night in October 2017, some people attacked and set the set ablaze, injuring animals and destroying several costumes.[88] Several Muslim leaders protested against the alleged misrepresentation of Alauddin Khilji and called for a ban.[89][90] In the days leading up to the film's release, there were violent protests and riots in several parts of India.[91][92] In Haryana, the protestors had attacked several vehicles including a school bus.[93][94]
Bhansali and Deepika Padukone had received threats of violence and death.[95][96][97] The film makers received support from the film community and industry associations including the Indian Film & Television Directors' Association, Cine & TV Artists Association, Western India Cinematographers' Association, Association of Cine & Television Art Directors & Costume Designers.[98][99][100]
Major political parties across India took conflicting stands. Several members and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party called for a ban on the film. The Rajasthan State unit of the Indian National Congress had also called for ban.[101][102]
The film is banned in Malaysia by the Home Ministry due to its negative portrayal of a Muslim ruler and for touching sensitivities of Islam since Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim nation.[107]
Release
During the launch of Padmaavat, there was heavy police presence deployed outside PVR Plaza, CP, New Delhi, as well as all cinema halls in the region (top). Note that no poster for Padmaavat was put up at PVR CP, as was the case reported across other cinema halls as well (bottom).[108][109][110]
The digital streaming rights of Padmaavat were sold to Amazon Prime Video for ₹200–250 million in August 2017.[111] Although it was reported theatrical distribution rights for all overseas territories were acquired by Paramount Pictures from Viacom18 in October 2017, Paramount later clarified that they would release the film only in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.[112][113] Prime Focus Limited rendered the film in 3D.[114] The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on 1 December 2017 in India, but was delayed due to protests.[115]
Padmavati was initially slated for release in the United Arab Emirates on 30 November 2017 and in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2017, but the makers stated that the film would not be released in foreign territories before receiving a certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).[116][117][118] In the end of December, CBFC approved the film for theatrical exhibition and suggested 5 modifications to the film, which includes the addition of multiple disclaimers and amending its title to Padmaavat.[9][10] The change in the title was intended to be a disclaimer that the film is not a historical drama, but a cinematic adaptation of Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem Padmavat.[119]
Post the CBFC approval with U/A certification, the film got banned by the Chief Ministers of four states Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana in order to maintain 'law and order' and avert protests in their states.[121][122] The Supreme Court of India over-ruled the ban, stating that freedom of speech is to be maintained and that the states have to ensure the screening of the film without any issues.[123][124][125] On 30 January 2018, Malaysia banned the film.[126]
Padmaavat premiered on television on 30 September 2018 on the Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) Colors, Colors HD, and the Hindi movie channel Rishtey Cineplex.[127] The film was dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages under the same title.[128][129][130]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 55% of 29 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10.[131]. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[132]
India
Padmaavat opened to mixed-to-positive critical reviews upon release.[133][134][135] Critics praised the visuals, screenplay, cinematography, and the performance of Singh, but criticized its execution, running time and the "unwanted" 3D conversion.[12]
Following its controversies, the makers held a pre-screening of Padmaavat in November 2017 for some journalists, including Arnab Goswami and Rajat Sharma, who praised the film and described it as "the greatest tribute to Rajput pride."[136][137] Rajat Sharma particularly praised Singh's performance as Khilji.[138]
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5 stars and said, "On the whole, Padmaavat is a remarkable motion picture experience that's backed by proficient direction, spellbinding screenwriting and superlative acting. For Bhansali, it's the best title on an impressive filmography."[139] Neil Soans of The Times of India gave 4 stars and said, "The director's expertise in heightening opulence and grandeur is well-known, further distinguishable in 3D. Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee compliments him by beautifully capturing some jaw-dropping scenery."[140] Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave 3.5 stars and said, "the real wonder of Padmaavat comes from its production and presentation. This film has phenomenal production design, costumes and camera work. The technical finesse on display is just mind boggling."[141]Rajeev Masand of News18 gave 3.5 stars, praising Singh's performance.[142]
Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror gave 3.5 stars, but criticised Padukone and Kapoor's performances.[143] Giving 3.5 stars, Sushant Mehta of India Today panned Padukone and Kapoor's performances, calling them "mediocre", while terming Singh's "unconvincing".[144]
Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and said, "I clinically admired each frame. I applauded the work of cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee, costume designers Harpreet-Rimple, Maxima Basu, Chandrakant & Ajay, and production designers Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray. But I wasn't seduced by the storytelling."[145] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 2.5 stars and said, "Padmaavat is spectacular [to look]: no one can do spectacle like Bhansali. You can easily delight in it while the going is good. But nearly three hours of it, and looping rhetoric around what constitutes Rajput valour can, and does, become tiresome."[146] Mayur Sanap of Deccan Chronicle criticised the execution and the length and gave 2.5 stars.[147] Suparna Sharma, also of Deccan Chronicle gave 2.5 stars and said, "Padmaavat is offensively chauvinistic, blatantly right-wing, and quite unabashedly anti-Muslim".[19]
Raja Sen of NDTV India gave 1.5 stars and said, "Bhansali takes an unbearable length of time to spark the flame. Things go on and on and on, with characters it is impossible to care about. They may appear attractive from time to time, certainly, but these protagonists are inconsistent, infuriating and test the patience."[148]
Rediff.com also gave 1.5 stars calling it "superficial" and wrote, "Padukone gets an absolute raw deal as the Queen; her performance is submissively overwrought, blandly weighted, and her speeches combined with the leisureliness of the narrative's pacing, can put you in a stupor. Worst of all, you will be driven by the suspicion if Padukone even does enough to deserve the movie's title."[149]Namrata Joshi of The Hindu gave a negative review noting the film is "a yawn fest" and "an interminable expanse of unadulterated dullness." She also criticised the 3D conversion writing, "The opulence doesn't seem as awe-inspiring, the special effects, especially in some of the battle scenes, are plain tacky and the actors seem like cardboard dolls of themselves in the long shots, acquiring a human visage only in the extreme".[150]Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost criticised the film giving 1 star out of 5 writing "Padmaavat is a perfect example of a Hindi film couching its extreme prejudices in grandiloquence and tacky clichés, with those clichés embedded in resplendent frames."[15]
Overseas
Mike McCahill of The Guardian gave 4 stars and said, "It's not just the extravagance that catches the eye, but the precision with which it is applied. Every twirl of every sari and every arrow in every battle appears to have been guided by the hands of angels. Such excess could have proved deadening, but dynamic deployment of old-school star power keeps almost all its scenes alive with internal tensions."[151] Shilpa Jamkhandikar published a mixed review in Reuters, who noted, "But unlike Bhansali's earlier films, where he was able to find emotional depth even in opulent historical romances, this one falls short." However, she praised Singh's performance as Khilji.[152] Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News opined that the quality of the work was lower than that in other Bhansali films.[153] Sadaf Haider of DAWN Images said that the film is "a flawed history lesson", however, she praised the film visual, music and most of the act.[154] Rahul Aijaz of The Express Tribune rated 4.5 out of 5 stars; he too praised the film and said that it "doesn't set up false expectations and then disappoint" due to "perfect storytelling", and "memorable performances".[155] A Pakistani critic, Haroon Khalid, had disliked the portrayal of Khilji as a stereotypical evil Muslim king and Ratan Singh as the righteous Hindu king.[156]
Box office
Due to the numerous controversies associated with Padmaavat prior to its release which resulted in banning the film in certain states, the film's commercial performance was highly unpredictable.[157] The film was released in only 70% of places in India.[158] However, despite limited screenings, the film earned an estimated ₹5 crore (US$731,106.38) in Wednesday paid previews.[159] The following day, the film opened nationwide across 4,800 screens of which over 500 screens were shown in Tamil and Telugu.[160][161] It earned an estimated ₹19 crore (US$2.78 million) nett on its opening day in India, excluding previews, which was considered impressive despite its ban in numerous big states and marked a career-best opening for Kapoor, Singh and Bhansali, and fourth biggest for Padukone (behind Happy New Year, Chennai Express and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani).[162][163][164][non-primary source needed][165] On Friday, the film added another ₹32 crore (US$4.68 million), owing to national holiday on Republic Day.[166] This was followed by a gradual fall on Saturday taking in another ₹27 crore (US$3.95 million).[167][168] Through Sunday, the film delivered an opening weekend of ₹114 crore (US$16.67 million) and became the fourteenth film to enter the 100 crore club in just under 4 days.[169][170][non-primary source needed] Furthermore, it broke the record for the biggest IMAX opening in India with US$461,000 from 12 screens.[171] However, due to its limited screenings, the film nevertheless lost over ₹35 crore (US$5.12 million) in box office receipts during its opening weekend.[172]
Outside India, the film broke all-time opening day records in Australia (A$367,984), surpassing the likes of Dangal and the dubbed-Hindi version of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.[157][173] One of the reason behind the film's successful run in the country was because Paramount (the overseas distributing company) was able to secure release in all three major theatre chains (Hoyts, Event Cinemas and Village Cinemas) unlike other Bollywood films which have to choose between the two latter.[174] In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $1.13 million on its opening day. This was followed by the biggest ever single-day for a Hindi film with $1.8 million on Saturday, breaking the previous record held by PK ($1.41 million).[175][176] Although Baahubali 2: The Conclusion still holds the record for all Indian films, that is inclusive of three different languages.[177] It went on to set a new opening weekend record for a Hindi film with $4.2 million, and witnessed the second best per-theatre-average inside the top 10 with $13,188 from 324 theatres.[171][178] As of 6 February 2018, the film has crossed ₹4 billion (US$48 million) worldwide, making it one of the top 10 highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time.[179] Its domestic net income was ₹2.75 billion (US$33 million) in the fourth weekend of its run.[20] The film has grossed ₹5.85 billion (US$70 million) worldwide.[180]
Historical inaccuracies
In the film, the Delhi Sultanate's flag is shown in black colour with a white crescent moon. The Sultanate actually had a green flag with a black band running vertically on the left.[181] Most historians believe little evidence exists for Padmavati in real life.[182] And, in the original Padmavat poem written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Khilji never had a direct confrontation with Raja Ratansen.[183]
It was shown in the film that, Malik Kafur was gifted as a slave to Alauddin Khalji, while he was actually captured by Alauddin's army general Nusrat Khan Jalesari, during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat,[184] and converted to Islam[185]
Portrayal of Jalaluddin and Alauddin Khilji
Before their ascension to the throne, Jalaluddin and Alauddin Khilji were known as Malik Firuz and Ali Gurshasp, respectively.[181][186]
Jalaluddin Khilji is portrayed as an arrogant, cunning and cruel man, though he was actually popular for being a mild-mannered, humble, and pious ruler.[181][187] Jalaluddin ascended the throne of Delhi in 1290 only to end the chaos that ensued after the death of Sultan Ghiyas ud din Balban.[188] He was not ambitious by nature and did not lead an attack on the Delhi Sultanate from Ghazni, Afghanistan.[189]
The portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in the film has been criticised by historians and critics for its historical and geographical inaccuracies and not staying faithful to the epic Padmavat.[15][188][190][191][192][181] The film shows an unsuccessful assassination plot by Alauddin's nephew, one which seriously injures the Sultan, but none of this actually happened.[186] Historian Rana Safvi wrote that Khilji was sophisticated, not barbarian as portrayed in the film.[189][193] Historian Mohammed Safiullah also criticised Khilji's portrayal and the implicit depiction of a homosexual relationship between Khilji and his slave-general Malik Kafur.[194] Historian Archana Ojha of Delhi University criticised Alauddin Khilji's look and clothing in the film.[195]
^"Padmaavat: Why a Bollywood epic has sparked fierce protests". BBC News. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2022. While Khilji is a historical figure, most historians believe there is very little evidence Padmavati existed in real life.
^MENON, ADITYA (21 November 2019). "Hail the Hindu Male! How Bollywood Is Selling Hindutva as History". The Quint. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022. And, in the original Padmavat written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Khilji never had direct confrontation with Raja Ratansen, leave alone killing him by deceit as has been shown in the film.
^Niharika Lal; Divya Kaushik (4 February 2018). "Who was Dilli's Khilji?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
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