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Before Suriya and Jyothika, There Were Mahathir and Hasmah

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For Malaysian Indians, Suriya and Jyothika are the juniors in couple goals - Tun Dr Mahathir and Tun Dr Hasmah are the seniors. Dr Hasmah passed away on 28 September 2026, at 100 years old. She had been the love of Mahathir's life for 70 years. Naturally, he is beyond devastated. The 101 year old lovelorn man has been admitted to the National Heart Institute Malaysia for observation.  According to his son, their home reminds his dad of his mom too much and is taking a toll on him, hence this move. They say a man who lost his companion becomes an empty shell of himself and would soon follow suit - I didn't expect that I'd cry for a man I hated for implementing racist policies. I may disagree strongly with Tun Dr Mahathir’s political ideologies, but I think the way he loved and partnered with Tun Dr Hasmah is unmatched. Their story began in 1947, when they were medical students at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. Mahathir helped Hasmah with her studies, a...
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Patriarchal Parents and Girls' Marriage Expectations

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This scene in Modha Rathri, where Muthu says that her family never allows her to do anything has everything to do with girls' expectations from a marriage. Hear her asking Maruthu if is it wrong to live the life she wanted - and it is never about gold or a husband like Yash - they were simple wishes - a trip, a word of appreciation, to continue competing in zonal events. Because she didn't get any of these valid expectations, she was desperate to break free and proposed to Nitish. These rejections from family is behind the expectations of the girls in the Tamizha Tamizha show. Circa 2017, when Karuththu Kannammaa page was gaining traction in India/Tamil Nadu, women from TN used to text us about their parents not allowing them to do anything - saying that they can do whatever they want after marriage, with their husbands. From cutting their hair short to going on a trip, everything was denied and saved for "after marriage." In fact, there is a very famous meme: "I...
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Maharaja Becomes the First Tamil Film to be Remade in Hollywood

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Maharaja Becomes the First Tamil Film to be Remade in Hollywood Maharaja is set to become the first Tamil film to be remade in Hollywood . After its success in China, the Vijay Sethupathi-starrer has caught the attention of a Hollywood agency, which approached the makers for its remake rights. And honestly, I can see why this particular story can travel. What makes Maharaja so adaptable isn't the Chennai setting. It's not the Tamil cultural references. It's the story itself . Take away the original setting and you still have a mystery, a fractured timeline, a deeply emotional father-daughter relationship and a series of revelations that can work in almost any country. Maharaja refuses to tell its story in a straightforward way - it's brilliance lies in its non-linear screenplay. It moves between timelines, withholds information and makes you constantly rethink what you've already seen. A seemingly ordinary scene can acquire an entirely different meaning later. Tha...
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Sharing Information about My Disability isn't Seeking Pity

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  Sharing Information about My Disability Isn't Seeking Pity I'm seeing a lot of people accusing me of "pity-farming" using my disability on social media. I knew this would happen. That's why I hid myself (and my jarring disability) for 10 years since I started the Karuththu Kannammaa page - only my schoolmate, who was the co-founder of the page and KK admins from India knew. I only came out with my disability in 2025 - 10 years after I started KK in 2015. 10 freaking years coz I knew that people, especially men, will use my disability to cloud my credibility.  I went from:  "Oh, she's a woman. She's using woman card and victim card." To: "Oh, she's disabled. She's seeking pity and sympathy." And since I am in my 40s, that too is used against me. Everything and anything that I'm powerless to change is used to discredit me. These people never actually debate me on what I said. You know what? My whole life, even when I was wal...
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My Abortion Story

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My Abortion Story This is not the story of the abortion I had - this is a story about women thinking ahead about a child's future and quality of life. I was conceived when my mom was 30, and my dad, 50. Immediately, my mom didn't want this pregnancy because: My dad will retire in 7 years. My mom doesn't have a job with consistent salary. Her concerns: Who will educate this ball of cells if it's born? We don't even have our own house. There are already 6 children in the house who'll need higher education and funds for marriage. The household is already hostile - and this unborn's stepmother hates them already. Mulling over all these, my mom decided to have an abortion - and she asked my dad, who was a physician's assistant. And like all these dumb pro-lifers, he wouldn't hear any of it. He didn't care that he didn't have the resources to raise another child. He didn't care that his advanced age would impact his sperm quality - hence me. My...
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Why I Love Dum Dum Dum So Much

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  Why I Love Dum Dum Dum So Much One of the movies I didn't grow to dislike is Dum Dum Dum. Directed by Azhagam Perumal, with music by Karthik Raja, and released in 2001, Dum Dum Dum is a a feel-good movie that makes me feel that directors these days could refer to it before writing female characters. 1. Intelligent lead female character who knows what she wants - to study further. Ganga ((Jyothika) is the 2nd state topper and wants to go to college in Chennai - but her father fixes her marriage with his former boss' son, much to her frustration. So, she plans to stop the marriage with the groom, Adhityan (Madhavan) who is also uninterested in marriage - preferring to enjoy life as a bachelor in the city.  2. No love at first sight BS - Ganga and Adhi start liking each other after getting to know each other - and that's refreshing. Only a handful of Tamil movies don't show how the hero is smitten by the heroine purely based on how she looks, upon laying eyes on her - Du...
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