LET’S OPEN WITH the fairytale of Snow White. Except Snow White is not named for her pale complexion but for her hair. Her skin is actually a creamy brown, and she is ninety years old.

In 2007, I was twelve, and I was gifted my very own video camera. It was a type of awakening for me, and I thought maybe I’d be a scriptwriter or a director. I filmed nearly everything. From boring footage of book spines, lovingly and neurotically organised on my shelves, to odd facial close-ups of my family members that they’d growl about back then and probably groan and laugh at now. I filmed myself playing the flute, giving tours of my room and of my aka’s house over the holidays. I wrote scripts with my sister and filmed a movie with our dad overacting and our younger siblings just trying their best. My small bala (brother) and I constantly made content just for us: we joke now that had we had consistent access to the internet – and parental permission – we would have surely been YouTube-famous.