Eight years after Swara Bhasker wrote an open letter to Sanjay Leela Bhansali criticising the alleged glorification of jauhar and sati in Padmaavat, the actor has as soon as once more spoken concerning the controversial scene within the Deepika Padukone-led movie.
Her newest remarks have triggered widespread backlash on social media, prompting Swara to reply to these criticising her views.
Reacting to the backlash, Swara took to X and wrote, “It’s WILD that so many individuals are triggered (girls included) by the fundamental concept that rape survivors have a proper to life after rape!!!”
This! pic.twitter.com/UaPifAS8BA
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) September 1, 2026
Swara had initially penned her open letter to Bhansali in 2018, shortly after watching Padmaavat. On the time, her letter divided the Web and the movie trade.
What Did Swara Say At The Delhi Occasion?
At a latest occasion in Delhi, the actor revisited the letter and defined what had made her so “mad” concerning the jauhar sequence within the movie. In a video that’s going viral on social media, Swara is heard discussing the scene that includes Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, who performs jauhar together with a whole bunch of Rajput girls.
Swara Bhaskar speaks about her letter to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the scene of Jauhar within the film Padmavat pic.twitter.com/6X4Z0SvFtC
— Yeshi Seli (@YeshiSeli) August 31, 2026
Swara stated, “I am watching this and it reveals all these 800 girls committing jauhar which is the story. Watching it I used to be considering that ‘God forbid, I used to be a rape survivor, what is that this movie telling me? I might really feel like a coward. That I did not kill myself to avoid wasting my ‘honour’.”
She then questioned the message such a portrayal might ship to survivors of sexual violence. She stated, “Is that what you need to inform girls in a society like ours the place I really feel like there’s any means a rape epidemic. Is that what we need to inform our survivors that you do not need to reside? That should you had really been courageous and honourable girls, you’ll have killed your self? Are we saying that rape is the tip of a girl’s life?”
Swara’s feedback come in opposition to the backdrop of her long-standing criticism of the movie’s depiction of jauhar and sati. In her 2018 open letter, she had argued that girls shouldn’t be made to really feel that loss of life is preferable to surviving sexual violence.
Swara Bhasker Recollects What Made Her ‘So Mad’ About Padmaavat
Talking about Padmaavat on the latest occasion, Swara stated the movie had a number of components that she discovered “simply so problematic”. She particularly recalled a shot involving a pregnant girl, which she stated significantly upset her.
“There was like one shot that made me so mad. I used to be like, ‘Chhee!’ There’s a close-up of a pregnant girl’s stomach and she or he’s going… So, you are saying {that a} foetus that is likely to be feminine does not need to be born as a result of she is likely to be raped by a Muslim ruler? I used to be so mad after which I got here out and I used to be like, ‘That is horrible’,” she recounted.
The actor additionally addressed the notion that she reacts impulsively when expressing her views. Swara revealed that she didn’t instantly write her open letter after watching the movie. As an alternative, she waited for 5 days earlier than placing her ideas down.
“Usually individuals assume I do these items (expressing an opinion) in a rage however I waited for 5 days. I used to be like ‘Let me examine if I nonetheless really feel like this. On the finish of 5 days I wrote this letter,” she added.
Within the 2018 letter, printed on The Wire, Swara had written that she “felt decreased to a vagina” after watching Padmaavat. She additionally criticised Bhansali for what she described because the glorification of jauhar and sati.
“Ladies have the best to reside regardless of being raped, sir. Ladies have the best to reside, regardless of the loss of life of their husbands, male ‘protectors’, ‘house owners’, ‘controllers of their sexuality’… no matter you perceive the lads to be,” she had written.
What Was The Padmaavat Controversy About?
Padmaavat, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, stars Deepika Padukone as Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Rawal Ratan Singh, and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji.
The story depicts Alauddin Khilji’s try to overcome Chittor. After he breaches the fort, Rani Padmavati performs jauhar together with a whole bunch of Rajput girls.
The movie’s depiction of historical past, significantly its portrayal of jauhar, grew to become a topic of intense debate.
ALSO READ: Swara Bhaskar Trolled Again Over Padmaavat Jauhar Remark, Internet Says ‘Wilful Blindness’
