Swara Bhaskar says she felt like a VAGINA after watching 'Padmaavat'
Swara Bhaskar's fierce comments on "Padmaavat" in her OPEN LETTER...
Published: Monday,Jan 29, 2018 10:40 AM GMT-07:00
Swara Bhaskar has, in a scathing comment on "Padmaavat", said she felt like a "vagina only" after watching the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial. However, some film fraternity members dismissed it as a "feminist debate".
Swara believes "Padmaavat" has brought up the question whether women -- widowed, raped, young, old, pregnant, pre-pubescent -- have the right to live.
In an open letter published on The Wire late on Saturday, Swara has decried glorification of self-immolation customs Sati and Jauhar.
She began her note by congratulating Bhansali for being able to release "Padmaavat" despite the hurdles -- something she says she even fought trolls for on social media.
The actress, who played a small part in Bhansali's "Guzaarish", watched "Padmaavat" first day, first show", and decided to share her concerns as it left her "stunned".
"That's what I felt like at the end of your magnum opus. I felt like a vagina. I felt reduced to a vagina-only.
"I felt like all the 'minor' achievements that women and women's movements have made over the years - like the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to education, equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, the Vishakha judgment, the right to adopt children... All of it was pointless; because we were back to basics.
"We were back to the basic question - of right to life. Your film, it felt, had brought us back to that question from the Dark Ages - do women - widowed, raped, young, old, pregnant, pre-pubescent... do they have the right to live?" Swara wrote.
She stressed: "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. It's actually pretty basic," she wrote, referring to the "very uncomfortable" climax scene in which actress Deepika Padukone (Rani Padmavati in "Padmaavat") leads a pack of women to commit self-immolation after attackers venture into their kingdom and kill the men.
"Women are not only walking talking vaginas. Yes, women have vaginas, but they have more to them as well."
Swara said she was hopeful that Bhansali would offer "some sort of a critique of Sati and Jauhar in your film".
The daughter of well-known strategic analyst C. Uday Bhaskar and professor of film studies Ira Bhaskar, signed off the letter as "Swara Bhasker, Desirous of Life".
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Comments (12)
First of all the slb has lost it because in the names of making historical films he is bringing the most pathetic and non sense stories. there are many freedom fighters, there are many women who have fought with lot more dignity and pride. Rani padmavati was great no doubt but what swara meant was why they have to glorify it. slb could have shown the pain behind these jauhars instead of glorifying it and making it seem like a thing to be proud of. No we should be ashamed of our history where so many women were left with no choice but to commit suicide. Look at rang de basanti, water, earth, quissa, pinjar and so on. Nobody is telling him to distort the history but don't glorify something which is absolutely disgusting.
6 years ago
SLB has put up a disclaimer stating that the movie by no means promotes jauhar. Guess Swara conveniently forgot to see that. Plus it was a choice the women made themselves and it was not forced on them. Khilji and his men were barbaric and given the era, they did what they thought was best for them. SLB just stuck to the story of Padmini that people are aware of.
6 years ago
Seriously? I understand the argument against jauhar or sati or whatever you want to call it. It is wrong, and the fact that it went on legally until not to long ago, and is still probably practiced in some places illegally, is even more wrong. That being said, in the era that was being portrayed, any king who captured another king's territory took all his people hostage and took all the women for sex slaves. In that era women really did have very few choices, and if SLB had changed ANYTHING, it would be called a distortion of history and people would be saying he was pushing a liberalist message at the expense of culture and history. He wasn't trying to portray women as "walking talking vaginas", he was trying to present a piece of historical fiction.
6 years ago
The point is simple .. even if it is a historical fact, do not glorify a practice that took hundreds of years to eradicate. The problem is that in India, in the name of paramapara, people still emulate what's shown in the movies and TV shows.
6 years ago
Is suicide a joke? Is feminism only about work/shooting guns etc in people's mind? Yes, it take strength to kill yourself but it takes a greater strength to live on. So many people die daily without wanting to in this world. Every day we medical professionals run a battle between life and death. It is so easy to die yet so hard to make someone live. No one is belittling Rani Padmavati's actions. she was a great woman along with others but the point over here is that being woman is more important or being a human? I cannot comment on movie as I have not seen it but SLB can perhaps in future choose to make movies on female figures who chose life? There must be some in history. It is his imagination and his right to show what he want but as viewers can people not express their own opinion? why does one person has to be right and other person wrong?
6 years ago
Swara said the following to SLB about the movie and not about the media talking about jauhar "That's what I felt like at the end of your magnum opus. I felt like a vagina. I felt reduced to a vagina-only.
6 years ago
I don't know why people especially girls are unnecessarily jumping on Swara. Have even saw the news on her yesterday? Shr is not talking about what's shown in the movie but the way the media is constantly talking about jauhar as if it's a very great thing. She knows it was shown in history so she is not talking about the movie but about the media who are always showing jauhar as if it's the best thing to do. Mind you guys, many women inspired by the media van take inspiration from this. Media can make and even break people. And what's wrong with feminism? It's because of feminism only you all women are able to vote and are living freely otherwise you all would have loved a miserable life(I am also a woman). And don't forget the feminism were mostly brought by some men only otherwise you all would still face evil practices like sati and child marriage. Even if it's history does not mean no know can talk on what was right and wrong during that time. Without evaluating the right and wrong we can't see the difference we are seeing today. It's like talking about British Rule without bad-mouthing the British on how evil and cruel they were to us Indians.
6 years ago
such a stupid comment Swara... this is a period drama which actually happened... Bansali could not show women liberalization here... so stop
6 years ago
Isn't this an history...it's like asking why Pakistan and India got seperated,why did British invade India...such an idiotic review...this happened for real and he took a movie on it...he showed how women were treated or how they lived...can't she get this simple thing!!! I think she wants to sail in this contraversy shipsss...lols, waste of time man!
6 years ago
This movie is set in 13th century, about 800 years ago. Does she not know the condition of women the. Or has it become a trend to insert your hardcore feminist ideas in everything now a days? Anne Boleyn, was the queen of England. Yet she was wrongly accused of cheating on King Henry VIII, only because she could not produce a son & was meddling in court's business. Modern women recognize that pathetic. But none of them come up with how movies should not show this. The movie is set on some reality. NO matter how you feel about it now, the reality remains the same. Jauhar did happen. They did it because they didn't want to be disgrace to their families. Times have changed a lot now. Women can live as a single mother, work out of their homes, be in relationships & be accepted by society for wearing any clothes. There is no need to compare this era with that era. And this movie has not been made to give some social message. It is to show the cruelty that women had to endure only because of their gender, beauty & desperation of society to keep them pure.
6 years ago