This piece has been the hardest to write in my 27 years of being a journalist. I spoke to about 20 women and five men across the Tamil & Kannada film industries that I cover. I mostly heard stories of horror, of sexual and verbal abuse, of being made to feel small. Of erasure.

https://twitter.com/frontline_india/status/1836333088441503939

This is an important story, because no one speaks of what happens behind the glamour and glitter. And this is time to acknowledge the fierce warriors, yes I'd call them that, @Chinmayi and @sruthihariharan , and the countless others who overcame trauma to speak.

Just back from watching #Maharaja Late to the party, but still. I have so many things to tell and ask director #NithilanSwaminathan. Was there any woman in the crew when you wrote what you wrote? Of course, there's nothing but love for Vijay Sethupathi, who is all heart, but... Nithilan, how can you use rape as this fantasy devise to get the audience to bat for your idea of retribution? You write well, you have a good eye for scripting, but it should also be sensitive illaya? Rape is bad, irrespective of whether one knows the survivor or not

After ages, a tight ball of tears burst forth from somewhere between my stomach and throat when Mother Earth gave back something it temporarily took. #ManjummelBoys Superb work! The heart rate kept soaring even though I'd checked the story with a friend! And therein lies the ability and talent of its director Chidambaram, to give us a set of troublesome, almost-louty, spirit-loving boys we would hate to encounter in any tourist destination, and yet make us root for them. #ManjummelBoys

After a very very long time, I had an eight-hour nap last night. I wondered when I last enjoyed what is now clearly a luxury, as an adult. Early days of journalism and a shift job ensured eight hours but in two-three bursts. After childbirth, five-six hours was Utopia... Post-Pandemic, it only got worse, with me stretching bedtime till my mind was blank and I had no choice but to sleep. A recent visit to two friends' home got me thinking. They've worked backwards with sleep as focus, and have still managed to fit in every activity.

#Jawan Shah Rukh, you beauty. This is your year. Cinema is yours to speak all that you did not when pushed against the wall. No one does mass like you in Hindi. But the film was middling at best though it had its moments. That intro. Full seetimaar. That said, i understand why people above the Vindhyas have gone happy crazy seeing the movie. This is what we in the South grew up on. Anti-establishment films that question and don't comply are the oxygen fandom was built on.

When @swethar__ commissioned this piece on #FemaleSuperstars in the South, my first thought was it's difficult to gain access to the 2 main people being spoken about. So I spoke to - fellow journalists @sowmya_rajen @Sangeetha_Devi - who've closely followed their journey

https://twitter.com/News9Tweets/status/1491354445699231744

Who is a South Indian superstar? Someone who commands pre-dawn first shows, brand recall, a fat paycheck, the first option for a script, and a bespoke project. But, a female superstar needs this plus an 'acceptable' relationship status and non-controversial social media existence

#PeriodLeave I wondered if I should put this out, but, had to. I was back at work exactly 2.5 months after having my son. My then employer @the_hindu did everything to make life easy. Those were the days of 3 mths maternity leave, and I went on leave a fortnight before delivery. I was allowed flexi hours. However, I also suffered from severe pain, cramping and clotting. I would place a bunch of papers on my chair. We were a mostly-women team, and they understood. The Chief of Bureau, a male, understood when I stood outside his room, panic on my face.