Swara Bhasker has recently sparked controversy with her comments regarding the Jauhar scene in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, Padmaavat. She described this particular sequence as “problematic,” which led to considerable backlash on social media platforms. In response, actor Ranvir Shorey has publicly criticized Swara, labeling her comments as “utterly shameless.”
In a post on his X account, Shorey expressed his confusion over Swara’s comparison between the Jauhar scene and the experiences of rape survivors. He questioned the logic behind her statements, stating, “I still don’t get it! Comparing Jauhar (suicide by fire in defiance of inevitable and endless rape, violence, and even necrophilia!) to rape survivors? Where’s the connection? They’re two completely different sets! The only intention can be to malign one group of people while trying to whitewash the other! Utterly shameless!”
During a recent event at the India International Centre in New Delhi, Swara revealed that she had penned an open letter to Bhansali following the film’s release. She reflected on her viewing experience, expressing concern about the message the film might convey to rape survivors. “I thought that if God forbid, I was a rape survivor, what is this film telling me? I would feel like a coward that I didn’t commit suicide to save my honour,” she remarked.
Swara elaborated on her sentiments, questioning the societal implications of portraying such narratives. She stated, “Is this what we want to tell our survivors that they don’t deserve to live? Are we suggesting that if you were truly honourable and brave, you would have ended your life? Are we implying that rape is the end of a woman’s life? This scene was so problematic.”
One particular moment that upset her was the close-up shot of a pregnant woman’s belly during the Jauhar scene, which left her feeling disgusted. Swara mentioned that she took five days to process her feelings before deciding to write the open letter to Bhansali.
Following the backlash, Swara took to Instagram to clarify that she never referred to Rani Padmavati as a “coward.” She posed the question, “Should we be telling a rape survivor that it would have been better if she had died, and that surviving the assault was a bad thing?”
In defense of the Jauhar scene, Prakash Kapadia, co-writer of Padmaavat, responded to Swara’s comments, stating, “We made the film according to our research and what is written in history books. Every person interprets the film differently. What we showed, including the Jauhar scene, was the reality of those times; it cannot be changed now. The situation was that of ‘do or die.”
Kapadia further noted that viewer perception is influenced by individual mindset, adding, “It’s also about intention; whether you are going as a viewer, or watching it to find something controversial, or to find negativity… With Padmaavat, people had raised objections even before watching the film and had protested on the streets. The same conversation is continuing years later, so what can I say? Let people say what they want to.”
Padmaavat, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, features Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, and Ranveer Singh in leading roles.
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