Critical Reviews!

  2 Broke Girls           It is amazing! This American sitcom is my new favorite. It was love in the second episode. I want to say it was love at first sight but that would be like saying I have always loved bitter melon a.k.a krela. The reality is you may not love it at first. But eventually, you develop the taste for it. Next thing you know, when Mumma is cooking dal chawal, you ask for krela ka bhujia with it.            The story revolves around two girls who work as a waitress at a Brooklyn dinner. One of them, Caroline Channing had to take up waitressing as she lost all her money due to her dad's scam. The other, Max Black coming from a hood with a messed up history had been working in the dinner for a long time. With Caroline's entry into Max's life, the duo decides to open their own cupcake shop with Max's baking skills and Caroline's business skills. The series depicts the ups and downs they face while trying to make t...

  Pagglait           The lead role is played by Sanya Malhotra as Sandhya. In this movie, the recently married Sandhya's husband dies and she is unable to grieve his death. During the process of her husband's last rites, she discovers that her husband had feelings for one of his office colleagues, Aakansha Roy. In the process of a possible confrontation regarding an affair, Sandhaya with her friend Nazia discovers a life of an empowered independent woman.            The turning point in the plot occurs when Sandhya discovers that her husband has left a huge sum of money for her. With this money, new doors of possibility and opportunity open for Sandhya. What must Sandhya do next? Remarry immediately? Get a job? Stay under the care of her husband's family? or return to her mom and dad? The questions and actions in this movie revolve around the idea "log kya khenge?".... What will society think?          ...

Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life A self-interview review! Q. Hey, Shreya! How are you? A. Hello! I am doing well. There is a lot on my platter. It's heavy with aspirations. But things are managing themselves. Thanks for asking! Q. Coming to review, what made you choose this book? A. I saw this book cover on someone's status a long time back. That person had good taste in books, so, I figured I should read this too. However, with the passage of time, I forgot about this book. Later, I came face to face with it when I visited my aunt's house. The yearning for this book rejuvenated. Hence, when my uncle asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I replied, "Ikigai". Q. How is this book different from other books like The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari or Who Moved My Cheese ? What makes Ikigai unique? A. I am glad you asked! All the books that you mentioned come under the category of self-help. However, each one is different. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrar...

  Lipstick Under My Burkha           The fact I am sitting right now and writing this review feels late. There are already tons of reviews and interviews in the market. Yet, I feel like I need to say something. Lipstick Under My Burkha was made in 2016. It has received international recognition. Played in New York, London, and Tokyo film ceremonies, India didn't give this movie its due credit. The film certification board of India banned it in 2017 claiming that this was too lady-oriented . How can you classify something as lady-oriented? However, the certification board did just that and has now earned itself a new name- Censor Board.            There are a few movies and series that bring out the struggles of a woman but the rarest of them all are on-the-ground realities. Four More Shots Please was feministic but it didn't feel real. It was a fairy tale show. The God Of Small Things a book by Arundhati Roy was a heartwarmin...

 Four More Shots Please!           It is crazy! This show is everything outside the box. It is a story of four girls in Mumbai each having a different lifestyle and their own struggle but their core ideology is the same, i.e., they own themselves. These girls- Umang, Damini, Anjana, and Siddi live their life on their terms.  Four unapologetically flawed women live, love, blunder, and discover what really makes them tick through friendship and tequila in millennial Mumbai.           When I first started this show, I didn't really enjoy it. It was because I couldn't connect with it. These girls live in rich Mumbai. They are financially independent. They don't let anyone bully them. They live life king size. They are the queens. There is something about it that isn't completely accepted yet. It was a sort of fantasy. I almost abandoned it. But something made me stick to it.            This show is the...

  The God of Small Things           Trauma isn't always caused by a big distressing event. Sometimes it caused due to a series of small overwhelming amounts of stress due to certain events and terrible accidents. It tends to leave a person unhinged in a way society doesn't understand. The book The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy explores the effect of certain incidents on various characters of the story. Each event that happens to us shapes us. We are the result of things that have happened to us. Draupadi strangely angry only with the men that won her, not the ones that staked her has sworn that she will never tie up her hair until it is washed in Dushasana's blood.           The God of Small Things is a story of fraternal twins with a siamese soul- Rachel and Estha. They are ordinary but their life was not ordinary. Their Ammu married to get away from the family. However, her husband turned out to be an alcoholic and becam...

  Guts A book by Raina Telgemeier           Thoughts can exist, feelings can exist, but words do not always exist........... However, you can try.           Everyone has a different way of coping with stress, anxiety, and fear. Some overeat, some under-eat and some don't eat at all.  My stress mechanisms are similar to Raina. When I am stressed or anxious, my gastrointestinal tract goes haywire. I don't overeat or under-eat. I eat an optimum amount. This doesn't make a difference because in a panicky situation that food simply needs to come out via an orifice. Sometimes, I feel that something is wrong with me but I have come to a realization that I just happen to have a very sensitive stomach.           Can you be sick even if you're not sick? Can you be healthy even if you hurt? Guts is a story of elementary school kid Raina. She is dealing with friends, not friends and classmates who think the school...