had the privilege of watching this with the team of puffball studios, including the wonderful rasti farooq. in the panel discussion afterwards rasti talked about how the concept of “ghairat” (honour) has been so commodified in our society & how it’s usually associated with just women & The Prophet (PBUH) & how extremely harmful it is that the only approach the masses adopt as a remedy to the defilement of this honour is violence. the conversation also explored how colonisation & the western notions of fundamental human rights, which weren’t made by us or for us, have caused a huge rupture between our understanding of ishq & ghairat, alienating us from our own indigenous & cultural notions of these ideas. i also really appreciated how well-researched, relevant, & culturally rooted the film was. it’s works like these that give me hope for a better future for my people & my country
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the crayon doodle of the mother on the electricity termination notice. the plants on the balcony grown in empty instant noodles containers. the empty water bottle in the broken refrigerator. their beautiful smiles as they took out their shoes to finally go outside. yuki growing out of the pink suitcase. kyoko noticing the different handwriting on the two envelopes supposedly from her mother. akira’s muddy, tender, trembling hands. the pure innocent laughter as they swung on the merry-go-round. the grocery store cart brimming with snacks. the closet full of mother’s clothes that kyoko refused to let go of. their wistful glances out the window. i’ll never smile again.
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a few weeks ago i was talking to a friend about how daunting it is for me to see my parents grow old & to be acutely aware of their mortality whenever i notice the growing strands of silver on their heads, the ever increasing bottles of multivitamins on their side tables, the fragility of their wrinkled hands as i kiss them, the permanent tinge of exhaustion in their voices, & their measured, deliberate movements as they get out of the car after a long drive. i ask myself; “what could be more painful than seeing these beacons strength, resilience, & youth i’ve depended on all my life slowly falter before my eyes?”. this film answered this question for me. surely there can be nothing more gut-wrenching in the world than outliving your own child. i was clutching my chest & sobbing during every single scene of matsuri’s parents as they grappled with the reality of their daughter’s imminent death with such fortitude. i cannot even begin to fathom how harrowing & soul crushing an experience like this must be. may such a fate never befall anyone.
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missed tigress like a MF
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tigress had no business being so mother in this one
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need tigress to manhandle me like that BAD
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tigress:
me tryna hit: NAWWWW THE WARRIOR IS A DRAGON??????
im so happy i get to live in a world where kim goeun exists she’s genuinely the most beautiful, enchanting, brilliant, talented woman ever to me every character she plays is so very dear to my heart & soul i love u jaehee i love u injoo i love u misoo i love u euntak i’d lay down my life for all of u
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guys does anybody know the significance of the radha oiling sita’s hair scene being 9 hours long?
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for the past few years i’ve had a tradition of watching a lot of bubbly, cheesy kdrama fluff during finals & winter break (run on, summer strike, true beauty, my demon etc etc) but im afraid this drama has out-fluffed them all omfg !!!!!!! i love love love it when kdrama men are cutu silly goofy losers who don’t play abt their girls they all make me feel soooo seen & represented !!!!!!! put me & sunjae in a loser off & we’d make history fr
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there’s this really sweet song my chanda always sings to me whenever im feeling down that has a lyric that says “but i’d fly chariots to rome if it would make you smile” which is so special to me because there have been countless times when i’ve been in the depths of despair & her words, her songs, her hugs, her sandwiches & loaded fries, her extremely hilarious jokes, her crazy makeup & mehndi experiments on me, her silly doodles, & her mere presence have penetrated the suffocating darkness around me & illuminated it with smiles, laughter, joy, & comfort. the same thing happens in this film especially in the scene where they’re at parvaty’s village drinking, laughing, & dancing in her small, decrepit, beautiful cottage. their laughter oh my god. i don’t know how many times i replayed that scene, closed my eyes & just heard them laugh with tears streaming down my face. in a world that is so cruel, relentless, & unkind to women, it is the women themselves who lift each other’s spirits up, who courageously share each other’s burdens, & who rekindle tenderness, joy, empathy, & resilience among one another. there are a lot of things about this film that are going to stay with me for a very long time but the most important one is the aspiration to return all the kindness that has been so graciously bestowed upon me by so many women in my life which has saved me over & over again. i love u so much women.
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thinking about how somebody i once used to be really close with loved this movie & also recommended it to me. sadly that person isn’t a part of my life anymore & it’s been years since we last talked but the memory of them gushing over this movie with me is still deeply etched into my brain. my mind is truly a museum of everyone & everything i’ve ever loved & i find it so beautiful & endearing :( <3
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chat im gonna be so fr the memes & reels this season were sm better than the actual show.. also yim siwan, jo yuri, & park gyu-young my dream blunt rotation i need to be put together in a room with all 3 of them
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replayed the scene of the older lesbians kissing thrice because that’s just who i am as a person. will be gushing & giggling over this for the foreseeable future i love u gau
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ye film meray dil ko is qadar azeez hai ke jab bhi is ke baray mein kuch kehna ya likhna chahoon toh alfaz ki sakht qillat mehsoos hoti hai. aksar toh is kay baray mein mehz sochnay se hi aankh pur-nam hojati hai. zyada nahi magar itna zaroor kahoon gi ke ye pyaari film meray liye sardiyon ki dhoop, garmiyon ki chaaon, parindon ki chehek, phoolon ki mehek, ammi ki goud, abba ki jhapphi, chanda ki muskurahat, garam bistar ki raahat, aur gulab jamun ki mithaas jesi hai. hamesha behisaab khushi aur sukoon deti hai. allah hayao miyazaki sahab ko khush rakhay.
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as someone who absolutely adores retro pakistani fashion & 90% of whose closet comprises of generation pk clothes this was a feast for my eyes !!!!!!! loved loved loved the music in this as well omg i love qawwalis <3
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i strongly believe that our folk music plays an integral part in shaping both our individual identities & the collective ethos of our society. watching this documentary made my heart swell with pride seeing how there’s still people among us who are so incredibly passionate about & sincere towards their art & seek divinity through it but the negligence & disdain which they’ve been subjected to also moved me to tears. it is imperative our generation rebels against the dogmas & truly comes together to inherit, preserve, & promote this fading art lest we lose the very essence of our being forever. funn, ishq, aur mauseeqi zindabad!
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“o overrunning river driven by the force of love, flow to us, flow to us”
all that is beautiful in this world is all that is full of, and inspires empathy, gratitude, resilience, & joy. rest in peace forugh farrokhzad u were a blessing to this world.
i usually tend to be less critical of directors with their debut films especially when i see potential in their art & even more so if they belong to the pakistani film industry which is only now being revived with the strenuous efforts of a very few wonderful minds so i’ll cheifly be focusing on all the things i appreciated abt joyland. saim sadiq has poured his heart & soul into this film & the compassion with which he has dealt with his characters, with all their intricacies & nuances, is testament to it. i do believe biba’s storyline got overshadowed by the cis characters in the second half of the film & was rendered somewhat inconsequential but she did have a lot of very impactful scenes that addressed a plethora of challenges faced by the trans community in our repressive & bigoted society. it was especially simultaneously haunting & riveting to see so many women around me reflected in mumtaz’s character & hearing so many very distressing conversations i’ve had about womanhood echoed in mumtaz’s dilemmas. the film manages to capture a myriad of very important societal issues in a relatively short timeframe without it seeming to forcefully shove them all down the audience’s throats which i appreciate wholeheartedly as someone who is a big fan of media that is unabashedly disconcerting instead of being overtly didactic. watching this film with its stunning visuals, wonderful score, & heart-wrenching dialogues has been an experience both gratifying & daunting, enthralling & devastating. here’s to more authentic queer representation & more unadulterated portrayal of the woes of womanhood in our cinema.
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always on my mind & forever in my heart !!! may palestinians feel safe in their villages & their cities again. may palestinian girls have the liberty to pursue education & build lives of their own again. may palestinian children grow up in the love & care of their parents. may the palestinian land come alive with joy & may the palestinian skies light up with serenity again. and may the oppressor be damned in both life & death. ameen.
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aishwarya rai lookalike contest in my room tonight. free entry & unlimited servings of tiramisu for all desi lesbians <3
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nothing undoes a girl like an insanely passionate homoerotic friendship ending in tragedy truly
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watched this movie two days ago but did not have the emotional strength to come on here & log this because everytime i even thought of it i’d break down sobbing.. genuinely do not remember the last time i cried so much oh god i need my dado back
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having a home & loved ones to return to, being able to cook for yourself & your loved ones, sharing a meal with old friends, feeling content & comfortable in your own presence, having a little forest of ur own… truly some of the greatest joys & blessings life has to offer omg my heart is so full :,) <3
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this movie was literally made for me i don’t know what else to tell u guys like there’s lesbians & fashion & fun & so much love all of this is who i am & what i represent as person !!!! also momoko saying she felt like crying when she saw ichigo’s delight upon seeing the kamikaze embroidery she did for her omg so heart-warming she’s soooo me :,) <33
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i started rewatching this drama sometime during last year & made it a habit to watch a little part of an episode on days that felt too devoid love & light, days where warmth & comfort seemed to abandon my being, days where despair & fear bore too heavy on my shoulders & this beautiful drama never failed to offer me a refuge & a safe haven from the throes of my own miseries. life has actually been very kind to me lately, given how long it took me to finish the drama, but even on days that made me question my place in this world & in the lives of people that i hold dear to my heart, i could always rely on my dearest reply 1988 to make me realise just how loved & treasured i am. i see so much of myself in deok-sun because she too frequently feels insignificant & disposable but eventually realises just how deeply adored & cherished she is by everyone around her be it her family, friends, teachers, or neighbours. i too sometimes struggle to find love & belongingness in my relationships with people but no matter how far i stray into this void, love always always always finds its way back to me. it finds me when my abba gets home to me sprawled on the couch on a really bad day & comes kisses my forehead & sits with me cracking really bad jokes until laughing doesn’t feel like a chore anymore. it finds me when my ammi calls me everyday to gossip & share every little detail of her day with me. it finds me when my bhaiyya travels from across the country just to be with me on my birthday. it finds me when me n my best friend stay up all night being silly, dancing to our favourite music & reading each other our favourite books/poetry. it finds me when my little cousins fight over who gets to sleep next to me on big family sleepovers. it finds me when my online friend of five years tells me she wrote an essay about me in her freaking gcse exam. it finds me when i dream about my late dado jaan oiling my hair in our veranda while we sing her favourite old punjabi songs together. it finds me when i visit my old school & all my teachers remember me & tell me how frequently they think about me. it finds me when my friend shows me music of an artist that means a lot to her, music she usually gatekeeps from people but feels a deep emotional connection with me & hence considers me worthy enough to share it with me. it finds me when a sweet old lady at the jewellery store tells me she thinks im beautiful & asks for my help in picking gifts for her granddaughters. it finds me when a classmate i don’t even interact much with sends me notes from a class i missed telling me he noticed my absence & knows how i take notes religiously so he wanted to make sure i had them. it finds me when i bake sweet treats for my bffs & they get so excited about them it makes my heart swell with love & gratitude. it finds me in numerous other ways every single day whether i realise it or not. not only is love woven into the very fabric of my existence but is also present in abundance around me. im so grateful to this drama for helping restore my faith in love & tenderness when the world seems teeming with apathy & hatred. i’ll love u forever my dearest ssangmun-dong family. i’ll love u forever reply 1988.
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when your circle small but your souls deeply & inextricably intertwined with one another !!! literally me n chanda <3
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watching this drama during a time of the year when my mental health begins deteriorating has taken me to places i wouldn’t even go to without cyanide
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shoujo so fawking good the hope makes a comeback omfg NEVER KILL YOURSELF
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when that one dilf said “gay inmida” 🤯🤯🤯
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oh this ATE despite being one of the whitest & most quintessential of yt ppl shows.. the finale episodes of both seasons had some of the most powerful & enthralling scenes in television history omg i’m so excited for season 3
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a harrowing tale of love & loss, grief & longing, subjugation & anguish, nostalgia & wistfulness that so artfully integrates local folklore, poetry, music & animal motifs on top of delivering stunning cinematography & visuals? me & all my fellow esoteric desi girls just collectively fell hard to our knees
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rimjhim you have bewitched me body & soul
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“i won’t ditch u, mangni announce hotay hi mein tumhe dump kar doon ga” SO FREAKING HILARIOUS I BUSTED A LUNG LAUGHING.. also i love love love the dynamic between ayesha & kabir cause that’s literally me & my bhai i love it when siblings are also silly little best friends <3
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my gluttonous ass went straight to bundu khan after i got out of the movie theatre & ate 5 gulab jamuns in a row.. anyways beautiful gorgeous stunning animation the ghibli girl in me was on cloud ninety-nine thousand !!!!! the movie is definitely not perfect but i’m gonna be generous & refrain from being too critical as it’s a big milestone for pakistani cinema & i’m hopeful we’ll improve with time but one thing that bugged me a lot was the lacklustre world building. instead of incorporating both western & eastern elements into this fictional world (names, music, architecture, character design) it would’ve been so much more delightful to see authentic portrayal of our rich & diverse desi culture beyond the surface level gulab jamun chai shalwar kameez bazars urdu akhbar & djinn representation (and quite frankly fuck the west bro). i would’ve also much rather watched it in urdu but cue cinemas only showed the english version for some reason..? ok im gonna stop complaining now cause i did genuinely enjoy this immensely & can’t wait to see animation thrive & flourish in pakistan! :D
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did u guys know that everything will be all right soon & life will be beautiful again & u will make peace with ur grief & love will always take u in it’s warm embrace no matter how many times u fall apart :,) <3
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wait manju maai saying women don’t need men in most cases she was lowkey preaching lesbianism.. also i loved the incisive humour in this & the very nuanced portrayal of how patriarchy & societal expectations affect the relationships between women in desi families planting seeds of rivalry & mistrust.. girls we all need to become pakki saheliyan with each other so bad walk with me here
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when yongpil said that it’s not that he couldn’t get over samdal but he just chose not to yeah that’s a REAL loverboy i love them both so much i love u best friends to lovers omg i was not expecting this to make me cry sm
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multiple oggy & the cockroaches analogies were made
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im lowkey convinced this is gonna happen to me soon guys stay with me
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that scene of the hijras fighting with axes & spades while looking absolutely regal in their elaborate lehngas has fundamentally changed me as a person. thank u for the desi queer rep dev patel chachu i love u
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tabu.. mera terminal bhi khul ga- [GUNSHOT]
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goodbye sufjan stevens spring, welcome back sufjan stevens summer
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“the children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and i am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognising this is incapable of morality.”
there hasn’t been a single day in the past 8 months that i haven’t thought of the palestinian children. i’ve seen hind rajab in my baby cousins whenever i drive them to get icecream. i’ve seen the little boy gathering pieces of human flesh from the street in a plastic bag whenever i see the kids in my neighbourhood playing cricket without a worry in the world. i’ve seen the little girl who took all her school books to the refugee camp with her simply because she couldn’t fathom being without them in the kids at the bookstore. i’ve seen the little boy who bought cat food for the stray cats of gaza despite having no money to feed himself or his family in the kids walking their pets at the park. i’ve seen the girl who had to get an amputation without anaesthesia in my little cousin who recently fell from his bicycle & bruised his elbow. i’ve seen the little girl who lost her mother mere hours after she celebrated her birthday with her in my friend’s sister whose birthday party i attended last month. i’ve seen the girl who recognised her mother’s corpse merely by the texture of her hair in myself whenever i go home & follow the scent of my ammi to wherever she is. i’ve seen the dead child who was the soul of her father’s soul in myself whenever my abba kisses my forehead. and God knows i’ve seen the feeble, mutilated corpse of the beheaded angel in every child i’ve seen these past few days. i’ve seen him in the flowers in the park, in the birds in the sky, in the moon & the stars. i’ve seen the crippled, burnt, malnourised bodies of the palestinian children in everything beautiful, innocent, & pure around me. they are all our children. and we have failed them. how does one live with the agonising, suffocating, crushing guilt of failing their children?
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“the world is held together, really held together, by the love & the passion of a very few people”
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it’s been one of those weeks pass the Sufjan Stevens: Carrie & Lowell Live 2017
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hirayama san u have to stop !!!!! your toilets too clean, your music too perfect, your admiration of the mundane too contagious. the capitalists gonna kill u !!!!!
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the entirety of this drama was just my friends & i screaming “SUICIDE POSTPONED !!!!! … WAIT SUICIDE IS BACK ON !!!!!” at each other over & over again
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proof that anything is possible if lesbians yearn hard enough! <3
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SAVE ME KDRAMA BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS LESBIAN COUPLE..
]]>2025 (iv)
chanda aur mein sehri iftaari ki barkatein loot’tay huwe 🗣️
2024/25 (iv)
- Devdas
- The Queen of My Dreams
- Wonderland
- Love in the Big City
- How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
- Honey and Clover
- NANA
- Kamikaze Girls
- Kung Fu Panda
- Kung Fu Panda 2
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>2023/24 (ii)
- Bodies
- Saw IV
- Saw V
- Saw VI
- Death Note
- SPY x FAMILY CODE: White
- A Silent Voice: The Movie
- Inside Out
- We Made a Beautiful Bouquet
- Soulmate
...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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]]>2023 (ii)
- First Love
- Tune in for Love
- In the Mood for Love
- Happy Together
- Fallen Angels
- Chungking Express
- Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
- Barbie: Fairytopia
- Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia
- Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow
...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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