What Is The Point

  Once a fan of Rom-com movies, I now prefer straight-up horror.   The reason? Rom-coms generally follow the same tropes.  From enemies to lovers or lovers to enemies to lovers.  Nothing distinctive, nothing new, and predictable endings. If the actors have chemistry on screen then you are rooting for them to get together. If not, you’re screaming at the screen like a grumpy relative, telling the characters to get back together with their exes instead. Besides, rom-coms are nothing like they used to be. They aren’t witty anymore and most of them border on vulgarity.  Romance Drama is far worse and has literally only one plot point that you will come across in every movie: The lead character dying from an incurable disease. And it is usually cancer.  To make it worse,  these movies hardly show realism when it comes to cancer.   The characters in movies hardly have a healthy color on their skin and are full of life. They are never in pain, ...

  There was a time when people raised their voices for things that actually mattered. History is proof that when people rallied together and spoke against tyranny or fought for equal rights, it worked.  Today, a lot of us live with the right to have our words heard, to be able to wear what we want, and to live the life we want because of the people who raised their voices for us.  A lot of us may not realize this, but freedom of speech is a privilege that a lot of people around the world still do not have, even though we would like to think they do.  But this freedom, to use our words to create an impact is often misused. Now it’s hardly ever used to raise awareness against injustice or to bring to light a crime that has been committed in the shadows.  What are voices being used for? To complain about something we didn’t like online. A short or a musical piece is ridiculed because someone thinks it has a hidden meaning. The content creator apologizes and then cr...

 I'll never understand the point of the paparazzi taking photos of celebrities without makeup and then posting them online as though it is sort of a privilege to see these people in their comfort zone. Celebrities are people, too, who, unless they have to do photo or film shoots, prefer not to be caked in makeup all the time. And let's face it, these so-called no makeup looks are hardly ever true. Most celebrities use minimal makeup when stepping out for casual outings. Obviously, they want their skin to breathe once in a while, yet these articles make a huge fuss about catching celebrities in their "element." As if catching them without makeup makes it for a rare and interesting journalistic piece. Yes, we live in a celebrity-obsessed era where the paparazzi make money by trying to capture every single movement made by any celebrity. But these no-makeup looks and articles based on them do not make celebrities as relatable as one would like to think. Are we supposed t...

  Abuse is wrong.  There. I said it. It’s a normal phrase and one that shouldn’t be challenged. Yet, whether you believe it or not, abuse, in different forms has become an acceptable practice enforced into our lives. For a long time now, I’ve wanted to write a sequel to my horror novel RAGE HOUSE . Without giving away too much of the plot, it features domestic abuse as a sub-plot. I found it hard to write about it because it is a disturbing topic. The sequel was meant to bring the theme of domestic abuse to the forefront. But I couldn’t do it. I must have worked on five drafts till date, but stopped midway. I didn’t understand why then but I think I do now. It’s not because the domestic abuse theme makes me uncomfortable, it is because systematic abuse has become an acceptable form to live your life. It is no longer considered to be a disrespectful subject or even wrong. If some parents are belittling their children, it’s a form of discipline. If a partner neglects or slaps...