When I stumbled upon an article about Alia Bhatt facing trolls for showcasing her makeup routine in a candid Instagram reel, I couldn’t resist lunging into the social media uproar.
My curiosity stemmed from the fact that her recent look in ‘Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani’ had everyone fawning over her and Rani’s style became a statement. I was, hence, taken aback on knowing that it was her ‘looks’ that she was being attacked online for.
Note: This article was published on Women’s Web on 3rd February, 2024
Yesterday we were hit with the news of the untimely passing away of 32-year-old Model, TV star and Influencer Poonam Pandey. While there were people who were skeptical over this information and sensed something fishy based on her visible health during her recent public appearances, some reserved judgement and were willing to give her the benefit of doubt. I was in the latter category, because I felt that maybe, just maybe, it’s not gotten so bad as to people faking death for the purpose of marketing.
Continue reading Shame On You, Poonam Pandey For Making Death Part Of A Gimmick!
I read a post on X recently in which a woman recounted a disconcerting experience during a professional interview call.
Time and again, there is one phrase that keeps coming up in the social media discourse on feminism. Any guesses?
Ah, no prizes for guessing the infamous “itni bhi feminist” or “too much feminism” phrase, a classic eye-roller for me, and I am sure for many more of my tribe, in the realm of gender equality discussions.
Pray tell me, how can an ideology, a movement be too ‘much’? It’s not salt or the seasoning of your soup where you can go, “Oops, too much salt, only one spoon was required”. Either you stand for what feminism stands for, or you don’t.
I came across a comment recently on my Twitter (now X) feed that got me thinking. It was a post about stay-at-home moms and someone commented, “We shouldn’t judge their decision to stay home. It’s their choice, after all.” While I do agree that it is none of my business to comment on the decision made by any mother, this simple statement got me pondering. Is it always a deliberate choice, unaffected by societal expectations and pressures? This idea stayed with me as I thought about how every time there is a discussion on any such topic, we tend to dismiss it as a choice without really looking at the situation from all angles. Instead of pitting mothers making different choices against each other, shouldn’t we focus on enabling an ecosystem in which every mother truly follows her heart?
I haven’t been active on Twitter lately for self-preservation. Even when I open the app, I skim through the feed with a brisk stroke of my thumb. But a recent top trending hashtag on Twitter hit too close to home and I felt compelled to dig further.
A tweet from Dhanya Rajendran, Journalist and Editor-In-Chief of The News Minute, intrigued me. She mentioned a distasteful trending hashtag and called out Twitter India on allowing such malicious content to trend on their platform.
This prompted me to go and check what this was all about. I discovered that the top trending hashtag was one which called a top Tamil actor ‘the son of a prostitute.’ And I was absolutely clueless about where this came from. Baffled and befuddled, I tried to trace the origin of this hashtag only to discover that this was a result of “fan wars.” Fans of the Tamil film actor Vijay put every ounce of effort to spotlight this trend as a means to seek ‘revenge’ on the other team of fans.
The unfortunate and heart-breaking demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput triggered debates and dialogues manifold. While there is definitely an urgent need for us to create mental health awareness, what I found appalling is that in an attempt to do this, a lot of us have missed the point leading to a counter-productive endeavour.
At the outset, I want to state in bold that this post is neither about determining whether or not Sushant Singh Rajput was suffering from depression nor is it about analyzing the cause of his death. I know nothing about him personally to make any claims and I pray he gets justice and his family finds closure.
Recently, someone shared a blog on a WhatsApp group where I am a member. The writer had written a story about a woman who felt uplifted and empowered when she began to wear a bright red shade of lipstick. It was a beautiful depiction of her journey and some found the writing to be powerful.
“It’s not easy but it’s doable” – This was the topic of my conversation with noted Screenwriter and Director Alankrita Shrivastava at WICA 2020 – Women at Corporate Allies thoughtfully curated by Women’s Web.
Continue reading Conversation With Director Alankrita Shrivastava At WICA 2020
My spunky daughter was having a fun banter with one of my relatives when she was told that she will be missed in the future. “Why? Where am I going? I am here only!” She was perplexed.
“Oh! You will get married and become a member of someone else’s home”, was the answer she received.
