THE FORGOTTEN STORIES

  Madeline’s mirror told her she’s fat, It appalled at her shapeless dress, Covering a chunk of flesh. She looked at her broad shoulders  And big breasts,  which reminded her of a pile of  clothes that no longer fits her. But Madeline smiled and applied her eyeliner effortlessly. Her mirror sneered at her  chafing thighs kissing each  other when she moves. Madeline’s mirror found her  plush lips contradicting  the pair of flesh  on either side of it. It spotted the two chins fighting for space like contestants in the combat zone. Madeline admired her freckleless skin, and applied her favourite lipstick. The mirror reflected  her flabby arms  complementing her  saggy belly. Madeline moved closer  to her mirror,  which still in oblivion,  started to produce sympathetic smiles at her legs. It mirrored how her legs carry all the weight, hiding under her flowy dress. Appreciating her silky hair and perfectly manicured...

  Kaathal - The Core is one of the movies of 2023 that left an ache in my heart. It's the kind of movie where you just sit and stare at the wall for hours after you finish it. I keep thinking about the pain of Mathew, Omana, Thankan and Chachan and it is something that continues to haunt me. Mathew’s pain is something that has become part of him by living the prime of his life pretending to be an integral part of a heteronormative society. His calm and meek personality is like a dormant volcano that is likely to erupt anytime. When he confronts his pain with Chachan and Omana, we see him peeling off his outer layer of crust and showing us his core. The core, that has carried deep wounds of fear and shame of coming out and confronting his fears, all this while.  I don’t think I have seen a more compassionate and kind woman as Omana in recent movies. Despite being in a marriage that doesn’t fulfill her needs, she stays in it for years for the sake of Mathew. And when the right ...

  My procrastination ends here, While the urge to write chokes my throat, My hands get paralysed as in a trance, I find excuses to write a little poem, I make up a lonely man, a distressed woman, a lovers’ quarrel, an unrequited love, But they are reluctant to play the part, Maybe i should give them a raise, Or throw a party at midnight, Maybe a few drinks might work, Only if they don’t puke. I can expect a little vandalism,  Some damage to the property and a mini scandal, Possibly out of rage. But at the end when I bring my weapons, Sometimes they get scared and back off, Some may never come back, Others find it funny and mock at me, And opportunists, seeing my desperation, Attacks me with manipulation. And all these while, my three panic attacks  talk to me in a different language, I try to write a little poem With a racing heart and flowing eyes, I write my little poem, tortured and broken, I end my little poem, Like a mighty warrior,  Who had a pyrrhic victory.

“Hi, I'm Chandler. I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable" might be the perfect introductory sentence to Chandler Bing. He is undoubtedly one of the best characters in the show who captured our hearts and imagination with his good looks, charm and wit. I remember growing up, watching the show, loving the characters and loving Chandler Bing a bit more. It’s unfortunate and heartbreaking to think of  his demise. The timely sarcastic dialogues and the complementing mannerisms made us all laugh with him. The sheer delight on his face when he can pass on a funny comment to his friends is nothing but a treat to eyes. His exemplary friendship with Joey,  his imperfectly perfect relationship with Monica , and every little sweet and awkward things that he does for his friends are something that we wish to have in real life. From a character having commitment issues and who was “…Hopeless And Awkward And Desperate For Love.”due to his struggled childhood to the one who starts a new lif...

  Mike Flanagan is undoubtedly one of the best gothic television series makers of the contemporary industry. Flanagan’s The Haunting series, The Midnight Club and Midnight Mass are the much praised examples of his style and work. Adding to his finest collection is his adaptation of Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Divided into 8 episodes the series is a brilliant and modern tribute to Poe’s most celebrated short story. While Poe’s story of Usher remains the heart of the series, it is unified to the body by attaching different organs based on other works of Poe including The Masque of the Red Death, Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven, and many more. The nefarious Patriarch of the Usher family, Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), whose legacy is maintained through his several wicked and selfish children , his equally ruthless twin sister Madeline (Mary McDonnell) who is loyal towards her brother and their opiate empire Fortuna...

 Mothers are always praised and glorified for the sacrifices that they make and are called supermoms, if they find a balance with their family and work life. Movies have always portrayed mothers as either sacrificial or supermoms. But do all the mothers choose the same road?  Maggie Gyllenhaal's 'The Lost Daughter' speaks for all the flawed unnatural mothers. People who become mothers at an early age, who feel traumatized by the whole new version of themselves, who live in fear of losing their original identity in the run for creating one for their children, who make choices selfishly regardless of their children's needs. Leda in the movie, in fear of losing her individuality in the love for her children, takes a decision to focus on her career. She finds it as an amazing experience and embraces everything that she desired, peeling off the perfect mother image that she is supposed to keep.  When women are considered to have innate motherness in them, people don't re...

  I let myself sink into you,  Taking deep dips,  Not letting myself float.  You kept the rhythm of ocean Calm and said the waves To come another day.  I got lost in the tranquility of your arms,  Seeking an abode for eternity,  Reaching out in bliss.  Maybe If I could live here forever,  I would dance at a different pace,  guided by the warmth of your heart. I see no lines seperating us,  Shutting down the little fragments of overthinking,  I place you close to my bosom,  Never to let you go.  Making all the falsities disappear,  I'm riveted by the hold of your hands,  the sheer joy on your face  At the movement of my eyelashes,  Making me fall all over again.  You asked me if you could join in my agony,  If you could make me think of  Things of joy, Checking my pulse and it's  dramas,  You dived deep into me,  Untangling the mysterious cords,  that encircled me....