Actress Swara Bhasker’s open letter to Padmaavat director Sanjay Leela Bhansali after watching the film has become the latest target on social media. Her open letter on how she felt “reduced to a vagina” while watching Padmaavat has, unsurprisingly, gone viral and, also unsurprisingly, has made some people on social media indignant, outraged and angry.
In her piece written for The Wire, Swara called Bhansali out for glorifying acts like sati and jauhar that deeply undermine the dignity of women.She wrote, “I felt reduced to a vagina only” where she accused Bhansali of glorifying `Jauhar` and `Sati pratha`.
“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,” Swara wrote in her letter.
“It would be nice if the vaginas are respected; but in the unfortunate case that they are not, a woman can continue to live. She need not be punished with death because another person disrespected her vagina without her consent,” she added in the letter.
With this letter, Bhansali supporters took to social media to show their discontent.
Someone tell Swara Bhaskar that Khilji reduced Padmavati and other Rajput women to mere Vaginas and not SLB..
Padmavati is the tale of how Rajput women refused to be mere vagina..
— Ekita (@LostByWaves) January 28, 2018
Singer-actor Suchitra Krishnamoorthi picked up on a role of a prostituted woman played by Swara earlier on in her career, in the 2017 acclaimed film ‘Anarkali of Aarah’.
“Funny that an actress who can play an erotic dancer/prostitute with such elan should feel like a vagina after watching a story of a pious queen. What standards are these… tch tch,” she said.
Funny that an actress who can play an erotic dancer/ prostitute with such elan should feel like a vagina after watching a story of a pious queen . What standards are these …tch tch
— Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) January 28, 2018
She wrote back to Suchitra saying, “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!!!!!”
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!!!!! https://t.co/pVh7rskZHL
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) January 28, 2018
Not just Suchitra, Swara gave it back to a lot of trolls who have been slamming the actress for her opinions on Padmaavat.
Twitter is flooded with similarly dismissive comments. To someone who accused her of having “belittled the entire women community,” Swara responded:
I’ve realised that I don’t qualify as a feminist since I can’t say vagina 5 times in a sentence. No wait, not that I can’t. I don’t want to.
— Sonal Kalra (@sonalkalra) January 28, 2018
Super saddened to read your views about #Padmaavat And more surprised as you know the movie craft yourself! A difference of opinion is one thing but with your views, you’ve belittled the entire women community! OR Can we say some ‘jealousy in the air for #SwaraBhaskar?
Totally your choice Sonal.. saying or not saying the word vagina has nothing to do with being a feminist.. but in a 2440 word article about a film- that ur only recall is the use of the word vagina.. may have something to do with.. i wonder what? 🙂 🙂 🙂 https://t.co/vukMMxds40
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) January 28, 2018
Trolling the trolls!!!! 😈😈😈😈😈
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) September 10, 2017
A tweet from September 2017 about trolling trolls has been pinned on Swara Bhasker’s Twitter timeline, so it doesn’t look like she’s backing down anytime soon.