Swara Bhasker’s open letter to Sanjay Leela Bhansali set the cat among the pigeons, for sure. There have been sharp reactions to her views that the film glorified the medieval practices of Jauhar and sati. She had written, “You may be wondering why the hell I am going on and on thus about vaginas. Because Sir, 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.”
However, the hate that has been pouring in has naturally left her feeling like something of a victim-only! Trying to defend her stance, Swara took to Twitter amidst the deluge of negativity, to post, “Funny that people cannot get over the fact that a woman said Vagina! Funny that in a 2440 word article making fairly comprehensible arguments they only remember the word Vagina!!! So... Vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina vagina...............vagina vagina VAGINA!!!!!”
RECOMMENDED READ: I FELT REDUCED TO A VAGINA–ONLY: SWARA BHASKER ON PADMAAVAT
The straight-spoken actress was also asked about it at an event, where she defended, “Everybody has a right to an opinion. Like I am entitled to an opinion, so is everyone else. I put forth my point of view. I feel I put across my point of view in a polite and respectful manner. I did not have any vicious intent. I had legitimate questions after watching the film and I raised those.”
She added, “If people don’t agree with me, it’s alright as it is a democratic country. I had no idea that this would create such a mayhem and that people who are not connected to the film at all will get upset. I didn’t have any mal-intent. I did not know that the letter would invoke so much interest.”
Incidentally, while Bhansali himself did not react to her letter, Deepika had taken on the criticism herself. During a recent interview, she said, “Let me put things in perspective. We are not endorsing Jauhar. You must see the scene/practice in context to the period in which it was shown.”
Speaking of Padmavati’s decision to choose self-immolation she added, “And when you do that, you will realize, it's so powerful. You do not feel like she is doing anything wrong. You want her to embrace the flames because she is going to be united with the man she loves.”
