I wrote this essay on Wes Anderson’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ during my final year of undergraduate studies. Last year, I decided to edit and publish it on Medium.

Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is about a concierge named, Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) who gets framed for the murder of his 84-year-old lover, dowager Madame D. (Tilda Swinton). Together, Gustave and his lobby boy, protege and friend, Zero (Tony Revolori) embark on a quest for fortune and to prove Monsieur Gustave’s innocence. Anderson is known for his symmetrical frames, visual ornamentation, novelistic chapter headings, the persuasive sense of…

This article was originally published in the Women’s Republic.

TW: rape, sexual assault, child abuse

Last year, cases of sexual assault and child abuse increased in the middle of a global pandemic. Protests were held in the capital, and campaigns demanded the State to make immediate changes to bills and policies, to help sexual assault victims and survivors. It is extremely disappointing when systems are corrupt and work in the favor of helping the perpetrator. This is a cultural norm, so why does society deny the existence of rape culture? What happens when people assume that rape culture started recently…

This article was originally published in the Women’s Republic.

When talking about the different birth control methods, you would immediately think of condoms, IUDs, and the most famous one — the pill. But these were not the methods that were used when birth control was first introduced. In many countries, there were a lot of strange and possibly dangerous types of birth control methods. The traditional methods are now outdated and abandoned. The evolution of birth control methods did not start with the pill, and they were only introduced only recently. …

This article was originally published in the Women’s Republic.

Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers is an animated feature directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. An acclaimed Irish animation studio with animated projects including The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2012), and The Breadwinner (2017). A story filled with magic and friendship, and layered with densely packed themes such as colonialism and empowerment are the reasons why Wolfwalkers is an intense and gorgeously animated film. This may be the animated feature that takes you back to the traditional hand-drawn animation style that you have been longing for.

The Wolfwalker and Her Pack

This article was originally published in the Women’s Republic.

A collective cheer (and sigh) came across the world when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 Presidential Election against Donald Trump. Millions of people celebrated this historic win, and it did not matter whether you were American or not. People were glad that The Orange Menace, aka Donald Trump, was finally defeated and his tyranny was finally over.

The reason this election was historic was because of one candidate. Kamala Harris, the Vice President-elect, was the first Black and South Asian ever to win the seat. Harris had a…

This article was originally published in the Women’s Republic.

There are not a lot of teen drama movies that are like Selah and the Spades. Most teen dramas are set in romance. A young girl is trying to figure out her place in the world, dealing with teenage drama, boys and dating. But Selah and the Spades is a teen drama that has a different feel compared to many of the films of that genre. It is not the typical teen romance that we have seen before. It is a completely refreshing new movie.

Teen movies like Mean Girls, She’s…

This article was originally published in the Women’s Republic.

There are a lot of animated features that are centered around the death of someone that was loved. Often characters go through an adventure to find some solace in their grief as a means of moving on after loss. Over The Moon is a film about a young girl who is dealing with the death of her mother as her father is moving on from their shared grief. At the core of this film, it is about how people deal with loss. …

It has been some time since I sat down and wrote down my feelings about something that happened in my life. But naturally, I have found that writing is very soothing and therapeutic for me to wrap my thoughts and frustrations.

Currently, I am listening to music which calms me down and helps me focus. I had no plans to do this. This is rather a spontaneous writing session. I was not sure whether writing about this would have been appropriate because I did not want to sound overdramatic. See, two weeks ago I almost had a breast cancer scare.

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