Bollywood actress Swara Bhaskar is once again in the news for her comments on the climax of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical film 'Padmaavat' and its famous 'Johar' scene. Recently, after his strong statements regarding the Jauhar scene in the film and questions raised on the depiction of self-immolation, he had to face tremendous trolling and sharp criticism on social media. Amidst this huge backlash and public protest, now Swara Bhaskar's tone seems to have changed and she has given a detailed clarification on her words. Swara Bhaskar's clarification came after heavy trolling: 'My statement has been misunderstood' Responding to the continuous criticism on social media platforms, Swara Bhaskar clarified that the context of her statement has been distorted. She said that she did not at all mean to disrespect the sacrifices of historical heroines or belittle the historical Jauhar done by Queen Padmini and Rajput women. Swara said in her clarification, "I never said that what happened historically was out of context or that the decision of the women of that era was cowardly. History has its place and the circumstances at that time were completely different. My point was only about the artistic glorification and grand presentation of that scene on the modern cinematic screen of the 21st century. As a viewer and a feminist, I simply raised the question that in today's time, should such scenes be shown as a romantic victory without any critical perspective?"
Why did the controversy erupt on social media? The controversy started when Swara Bhaskar rekindled the years-old 'Padmaavat' controversy during a recent conversation. He strongly disagreed with the Jauhar scene shown at the end of the film and questioned why women's existence was linked only to their physical purity. As soon as this statement became public, social media users, cinema lovers and various social organizations opened a front against Swara. Many users alleged that Swara was insulting the historical facts and the dignity of the supreme sacrifice made by Indian women to escape the atrocities of the invaders. People called it a gimmick to gain cheap popularity, after which Swara had to come on the backfoot and clarify her position. Swara Bhaskar also talked about the film industry and cinematic freedom and added in her clarification that it is a democratic right to question the idea and message of any film. He said that when the period of violence and threats was going on during the release of the film 'Padmaavat', he had fully supported the freedom of artistic expression. According to Swara, criticizing a film and demanding its ban are two completely different things. He never advocated a ban on the film, but only tried to start an intellectual discussion on women's right to life and physical autonomy. However, amid divided opinions on social media, it will be interesting to see whether the controversy stops after his latest clarification or this debate continues further.