Aarushi Sahajwani

Sri City : I remember being a child in a mall and seeing Mickey Mouse walking around. Not on a screen, right there, moving through the crowd. Kids ran after him, tugging at the costume, laughing without hesitation. Parents took photos. He bent down, waved, and exaggerated every movement. It felt obvious and convincing at the same time, the way these things do when you’re young. I stood there for a while, watching, without needing to make sense of it. Later, on the way to the parking lot, I...

Sri City : A few weeks ago, I went to this café in Chennai for breakfast. They had these long wooden tables, the kind clearly meant for groups. But when I sat down, I realised I wasn’t the only one sitting alone. Three other people were also at their own large tables, each occupying a space meant for many. Four people, four tables. No one looked up. No one even seemed aware of the others. It wasn’t awkward. It was completely normal. And that’s exactly why it stayed with me. Because somewhere...

Sri City: I remember watching October in theatres when I was thirteen. I didn’t understand much, only that it felt unlike anything I had seen before. Years later, I watched it again. When the final frame faded to black, I saw myself on the screen, two versions of me, quietly facing each other: the one who started the movie and the one who finished it. In that unspoken moment, I realized that some films don’t simply end. They linger, and in subtle, unexpected ways, they grow with you....