Swara Bhaskar’s open letter to Bhansali on Padmaavat has divided the Internet

Bhaskar's critique may be the first step for Bollywood in questioning the content that often goes without receiving flak from members of the industry

By: News Desk |
January 28, 2018 4:06 pm

Actor Swara Bhaskar penned her questions after watching the movie ‘Padmaavat’ in an open letter to Sanjay Bhansali in The Wire. The actor, known for speaking her mind, asked why the director, known for his larger than life epic dramas, thought it was wise to glorify jauhar (self-immolation) in the movie.

Perturbed by the blatant celebration of jauhar, Bhaskar claimed she felt “reduced to a vagina”. Since the whole exercise around the practice of jauhar was also about protecting the sanctity of the vagina, lest it be infiltrated by men, was a common ritual among women in the 13th centurey. However, Bhaskar calls out Bhansali’s decision to portray it as something other than what it is – “a hate crime”.

Also Read: Homophobic, Islamophobic and regressive, ‘Padmaavat’ embodies its own protestors

Bhaskar agrees that the women in the 13th century may not have had an option at their disposal, however glorifying it beyond a certain point was highly irresponsible, especially at a time when brutal sexual assaults have become commonplace.

In this evolved world, women don’t need to resort to ending their lives if they happen to go through the horrifying experience of sexually assault. In a series of pointers, she tries to disabuse the warped mentality behind jauhar:

Women have the right to live, despite being raped sir.
Women have the right to live, despite the death of their husbands, male ‘protectors’, ‘owners’, ‘controllers of their sexuality’.. whatever you understand the men to be.
Women have the right to live — independent of whether men are living or not.
Women have the right to live. Period.

Also Read: Kolkata’s Asiatic Society commissioned Padmaavat’s English translation 129 years ago

For those who’d refute saying that artistic expression needs to be given the space to unfurl, Bhaskar also pointed out:

The context of art, any art is the time and place when it was created and consumed.

Twitterati, however, were quick to take sides on this debate as well, but largely remained divided.

For an industry that remains notoriously silent in the face of bigotry – always choosing commercial expediency over standing up – this Swara Bhaskar open letter to Bhansali is as powerful as it gets.https://t.co/2etpJ5IOsc

— Sanya Dhingra (@DhingraSanya) January 28, 2018

If you are a woman who watched Padmavat and felt a bit uncomfortable, you are not alone. Swara Bhaskar gives voice to some of the feelings https://t.co/qgd0m8nVwn

— Janhavee Moole (@janhavee) January 28, 2018

I chose not to view the movie almost exactly anticipating these perversions.
Kudos to Swara Bhaskar for this mostly to-the-point critique & clearly & forcefully counters the basic politics of ‘Don’t dare discuss “our” woman’. https://t.co/1dNEHf8WqG

— Madhav Pd Sinha (@sinhamadhav) January 28, 2018

From Rajputs to Islamists to feminists, everyone seems to be offended by #Padmaavat. Bhansali ji ye kya kar diya aapne?

— Shuchi Singh Kalra (@shuchikalra) January 28, 2018

Now here is the right reason to protest against #Padmavat – a film that glorifies regressive acts like Sati and Jauhar . Swara Bhaskar pens a devastating open letter to the director https://t.co/AcrmUjn8yF

— Chitra Narayanan (@ndcnn) January 28, 2018

On #Padmaavat – The same people who argue that one MUST NOT judge medieval cruel men through modern standards of decency, also insist that we MUST judge medieval women and their acts of self preservation from those cruel men through contemporary lenses of progressive behaviour.

— HindolSengupta (@HindolSengupta) January 28, 2018

Also Read: Kolkata’s Asiatic Society commissioned Padmaavat’s English translation 129 years ago

It seems it’ll be a while before Padmaavat stops sparking new debates. But, Bhaskar’s open letter to Bhansali may be the first step for Bollywood in questioning the content that often goes without drawing flak from members of the Bollywood industry.