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Maisha Islam Monamee

The author graduated from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka and is a contributor at The Daily Star. Find her @monameereads on Instagram.

Violence against women and children in Bangladesh

Have we grown desensitised to violence against women and children?

4 March 2026, 00:09 AM
When perpetrators act with confidence, it is often because consequences appear uncertain, distant, or negotiable.
4 March 2026, 00:09 AM
Ramadan productivity

Next Step / A guide to navigating the workplace in Ramadan

3 March 2026, 13:58 PM
In Bangladesh, Ramadan reshapes not only personal routines but also institutional rhythms. Office hours adjust, traffic patterns shift, and workplace energy follows a different arc across the day.
3 March 2026, 13:58 PM
The emotional cost of female ambition on screen

The emotional cost of female ambition on screen

24 February 2026, 11:30 AM
When every powerful woman on screen is depicted as overworked and cold, the idea of feminine leadership becomes tied to self sacrifice and emotional distance.
24 February 2026, 11:30 AM
Understanding the annual monetisation of love

Understanding the annual monetisation of love

14 February 2026, 11:00 AM
Netflix pushes a carousel titled “Love is in the Air”. Disney+ resurrects old romances under pastel banners. Amazon Prime quietly rearranges its homepage so that longing appears algorithmically convenient. A month before February 14, the emotional groundwork is already laid. The annual romance rollout has begun.
14 February 2026, 11:00 AM
Voting

Ballots, bills, and the life we are building

11 February 2026, 15:00 PM
With the election days away, young people are not speculating about who will win as much as they are preparing a checklist of what must follow.
11 February 2026, 15:00 PM
File visual: Shaikh Sultana Jahan Badhon

The political coming-of-age of a generation

9 February 2026, 15:45 PM
For most of our lives, democracy existed as a concept we memorised rather than experienced.
9 February 2026, 15:45 PM
gen z money d.PNG

The Gen Z guide to making sense of money at work

5 February 2026, 13:46 PM
Workplace money remains poorly explained, and conversations around pay often feel awkward, opaque, or emotionally loaded.
5 February 2026, 13:46 PM
How TikTok, memes, and Instagram reels stole your shows

How TikTok, memes, and Instagram reels stole your shows

30 January 2026, 12:00 PM
A punchline circulates without context. A dramatic monologue turns into a trending audio. By the time many viewers finally press play, the show already feels familiar, discussed, and emotionally charted by the internet. This shift has quietly reshaped how stories enter everyday life.
30 January 2026, 12:00 PM
Memory, music and the fragile shape of modern romance

Memory, music and the fragile shape of modern romance

At its heart, the film is a story of Krish Kapoor, a volatile and ambitious young musician played by Ahaan Panday, and Vaani Batra, a lyricist played by Aneet Padda, who together discover not only the soaring highs of romance but also the fragility of time when Vaani is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. What begins as a meeting of music and words gradually turns into a meditation on the meaning of love when memory itself starts slipping away.
24 September 2025, 13:03 PM
maisha_tasnim_sreshtha_65.png

The summer I learned what first love feels like again

I remember the first time I heard about "The Summer I Turned Pretty". It was in a group chat with my friends, where two of them were fighting as Team Conrad vs Team Jeremiah. "You have to watch it," they said and I was skeptical at first, dismissing it as just another teen drama. But when I watched the first episode, something clicked. I know it is super embarrassing to be obsessing over a teen drama as a twenty-something year old but this show really had its sweet way of pulling me in. I never thought a show about a teenage love triangle could make me feel like a teenager again, but here I was, waiting eagerly for a new episode each Wednesday.
23 September 2025, 15:04 PM
AI for job application

How AI can transform your job search

The sheer volume of administrative and creative tasks when applying to multiple jobs can feel overwhelming, and that is where AI can genuinely become a personal productivity partner. When used thoughtfully, AI can save time, reduce errors, and help you present your best self to potential employers.
23 September 2025, 05:36 AM

‘Metro… In Dino’ captures love in its chaos

“Metro… In Dino,” currently trending at No 4 on Netflix, plunges viewers into the messy, unpredictable, and deeply human world of modern love. Director Anurag Basu returns with his signature intertwining narratives, tracing the lives of four couples across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, and Pune as they wrestle with desire, loyalty, heartbreak, and self-discovery. At its core, the film probes the nuances of contemporary relationships, exploring the spaces between desire and fidelity, longing and responsibility, routine and excitement. Basu never shies away from the uncomfortable: questions of infidelity, emotional neglect, and the tension between individual ambition and shared life are addressed head-on, yet never in a preachy way. His storytelling is deliberate, oscillating between comedy, melancholy, and romantic whimsy in a way that mirrors the characters’ own emotional unpredictability.
18 September 2025, 04:00 AM
AI colleague

AI - the new colleague on your desk

From language models to workflow automation, AI tools are increasingly integrated into everyday work, promising efficiency and insight. Yet adoption remains uneven, in part because misconceptions abound.
16 September 2025, 04:56 AM
iPhone 17 worth buying

Is the iPhone 17 worth buying?

Every September, Apple asks us to upgrade. And every September, we wonder whether the shiny new iPhone is worth stretching our wallets again, or if last year’s model is still good enough. How much better is the iPhone 17 compared to last year’s iPhone 16? And if you are already thinking of spending big, how does it hold up against Android’s superpowers?
10 September 2025, 08:13 AM
Ducsu election 2025

An election that could return Ducsu to the students

There is a sense of possibility in the air, a rare, almost tangible feeling that something is different.
8 September 2025, 14:00 PM
‘Wednesday 2’: A spellbinding return to Nevermore Academy

‘Wednesday 2’: A spellbinding return to Nevermore Academy

When Netflix released the second season of "Wednesday" in two parts, I initially wondered whether this decision was driven by narrative necessity or simply by the platform’s strategy to keep the conversation alive for longer. After all, the first season had been a global phenomenon, and splitting the follow-up into two halves carried the risk of breaking its rhythm. Having now seen the complete season, I can say that while the release format interrupted its flow, the content itself proves that the creative team paid attention to the lessons of season one and delivered something richer, darker, and more confident. This time, the show leans further into the shadows while still delivering the sharp wit and macabre humour that made its first season so irresistible.
7 September 2025, 06:00 AM
A musical, a satire, a lament: The many faces of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

A musical, a satire, a lament: The many dimensions of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

I found myself wondering why an animated film had suddenly taken the world by storm, topping Netflix’s global charts. Animated titles rarely reach this kind of universal acclaim unless they are tied to a massive franchise, and yet here was "KPop Demon Hunters", a seemingly niche story about idols battling demons, sitting at number one. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to dive in. What I found was a film that managed to wrap a playful premise around a surprisingly layered commentary on fame, identity, and the relentless machine of modern pop culture.
3 September 2025, 10:49 AM
The weight of myth and maternal fury in ‘Maa’

The weight of myth and maternal fury in ‘Maa’

Every few years, Bollywood offers a story of maternal heroism, where a mother becomes both protector and saviour, taking centre stage in a narrative traditionally dominated by male leads. "Maa" enters this lineage with Kajol in the titular role, a choice that immediately draws attention. The film, currently streaming on Netflix, blends horror with mythology to weave a narrative that pits a mother’s fierce love against supernatural forces rooted in Bengali folklore. Set in Chandrapur, West Bengal, the story is anchored in the legend of Raktabeej and the fierce presence of Kali Maa, aiming to merge ancient myth with contemporary familial stakes. On paper, the premise is ambitious: a mother willing to defy mortal and supernatural odds to protect her child, all while exploring broader social themes, particularly the value of a girl child in a patriarchal setting.
31 August 2025, 07:11 AM
The summers we obsessed over teen love triangles

The summers we obsessed over teen love triangles

This summer, we, the netizens, turned Instagram into a courtroom to decide whether Belly should pick Conrad or Jeremiah. My feed, once a respectable mix of vacation reels, fit checks, work memes, and unsolicited life advice from people who barely graduated high school, has turned into a teenage courtroom where strangers plead their case for fictional love triangles. We type furiously about the fate of a girl whose biggest problem is which handsome boy gets to stand in the rain with her, and read captions declaring loyalty to a boy who exists only in Prime Video’s servers. It feels as if the world pressed pause on adulthood and collectively moved into a beach house where heartbreak is cinematic, summers are eternal, and every decision feels like a new episode. And we—fully grown, allegedly serious and busy people—are here for it.
28 August 2025, 06:38 AM
Productivity apps

Gen Z’s guide to planning: five apps that actually work

Whether you are a student juggling classes and part-time jobs, or a young professional navigating hybrid workdays, effective planning tools can make all the difference. So, here are five apps that can help you plan, prioritise, and stay on top of your day.
26 August 2025, 04:42 AM
Networking guide

The Gen Z guide to networking

For students and recent graduates, networking can provide access to internships, mentorship, industry insights, referrals, and even long-term career opportunities. But how do you begin building a network when you are just starting out?
19 August 2025, 05:12 AM
dsc04659.jpg

The weight of Monsoon in ‘Troubling Rain’

My first instinct, when walking into “Troubling Rain” at Alliance Française de Dhaka, was to recall how often rain has been romanticised in this city’s cultural memory. Generations have sung about it, written about it, danced to its rhythm. The monsoon, in Bangla literature, has been the backdrop for longing, love, and lyricism. From Tagore’s verses to Nazrul’s songs, it has always been imagined as something that enhances beauty and deepens emotion. And yet, what Abir Abdullah does in this exhibition is strip the rain of its poetry and return it to its grit.
18 August 2025, 05:07 AM
Understanding ‘cliffhanger economy’: Why OTT platforms split seasons

Understanding ‘cliffhanger economy’: Why OTT platforms split seasons

Every time I settle in for a binge-watch, armed with snacks and the delusional belief that I have “just one more episode” worth of self-control, an OTT platform finds a new way to personally offend me by splitting a season into two. You open Netflix or Prime Video, click on a highly anticipated series, and halfway through, realise you are too early for the binge-watch. “Stranger Things” did it. “The Witcher” did it. “Bridgerton” and “Squid Game” Season 3 did it—and, more recently, the second season of “Wednesday” just did the very same. And don’t even get me started on the “Money Heist” final-season split, which had the entire internet in a chokehold for weeks.
14 August 2025, 11:55 AM
Exploring love, loss, and literature in ‘My Oxford Year’

Exploring love, loss, and literature in ‘My Oxford Year’

Over the past week, my Instagram feed has been practically throwing "My Oxford Year" at me, with Tumblr-text captions over softly lit stills, reels romanticising ancient libraries and English cities, and teary-eyed confessions that claim this film destroyed them, in the best way. And like any curious cinephile, I clicked to watch it on Netflix. What I found was a film trying to be both the dream and the ache, the fantasy and the wake-up call.
12 August 2025, 05:00 AM
Cat eating

Inside the making of a local cat food brand

Bangladesh's pet food market is largely reliant on imported products, with limited domestic manufacturing and few established local brands. The industry faces several challenges, including supply chain disruptions, high retail prices, and concerns regarding product authenticity. Although demand for packaged pet food is gradually increasing, particularly in urban areas, the market remains in the early stages of development.
10 August 2025, 10:21 AM
The appeal of dark TV: Catharsis or consumption?

The appeal of dark TV: Catharsis or consumption?

We’ve all done it—clicked “next episode” with tears still in our eyes, let the credits roll as we stared blankly at the screen, a pit of something nameless blooming in our chest. Shows like “Baby Reindeer”, “Euphoria”, “13 Reasons Why”, and “BoJack Horseman”, to name a few, are not easy watches. They are raw, haunting, sometimes violent. Yet we keep returning— even when we say we need a break, even when we feel worse afterwards. And somewhere along the way, watching pain became the very way we process our own. Or maybe, just maybe, it became the way we avoid it.
6 August 2025, 05:05 AM
Sisterhood in the spotlight: How cinema finally got female friendships right

Sisterhood in the spotlight: How cinema finally got female friendships right

In the early days of cinema, female friendships were like decorative wallpaper—always present but rarely integral to the narrative. They giggled in the background, shared screen time over shopping trips or heartbreaks, and usually vanished once the male lead arrived. Where men had bromances that drove plots, whether on a battlefield or a basketball court, women, even in the company of other women, were set up to compete, compare, and eventually capitulate to romance. They were often designed to orbit the male protagonist, and when more than one appeared, you could almost smell the narrative setup: one would be the virtuous angel, the other a scheming vamp.
3 August 2025, 11:37 AM
‘Bidrupe Bidroho’ and the anatomy of satire as resistance

‘Bidrupe Bidroho’ and the anatomy of satire as resistance

"Bidrupe Bidroho", the six-day exhibition currently underway at La Gallerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka, revives the spirit of resistance. Organised by Earki, the exhibition has been organised to mark the first anniversary of the July 2024 uprising, the 36-day-long people’s movement that culminated in the overthrow of the Awami League regime.
2 August 2025, 11:43 AM

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