Swara Bhasker Turns Off Comments On Janmashtami Post After Bhakti Swami Calls Actress 'Shurpanakha' Amid Padmaavat Jauhar Remark Row

Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker shared a "Happy Janmashtami" post on social media. However, what caught attention was that she had restricted the comments on the post amid the backlash she has recently been facing over her remarks about the Jauhar scene in Padmaavat. On September 4, during a religious gathering in Rajkot held to mark Janmashtami, the actress was also criticised by Bhakti Swami over her comments.

Swara shared a painting depicting Vasudeva carrying infant Lord Krishna across the Yamuna River, with Sheshnag shielding the divine child from the storm. She captioned the post, "Happy Janmashtami!" accompanied by folded-hands and a blue-heart emoji. However, the comments on her post were restricted, with Instagram displaying the message, "Only some accounts can reply."

Responding to Swara's earlier remarks, Bhakti Swami, Swami of Khirsara Swaminarayan Temple and religious head of the VHP Janmashtami Festival Committee, strongly criticised the actress during a VHP Janmashtami religious gathering in Rajkot. He publicly referred to her as "Shurpanakha." Bhakti Swami added, "Making such remarks about Kshatriya women who sacrificed everything to protect their honour is an insult to their sacrifice," as reported by Bhaskar English.

Meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishad Central Minister Shankar Bhau also criticised Swara, calling her a "stain" on women's power in the country. "Mahila shakti ke liye ye kalankit hai, ek keeda hai wo," Shankar Bhau said.

What Did Swara Bhasker Say?

The backlash stemmed from Swara’s remarks about the Jauhar sequence in Padmaavat, where she questioned what the scene conveyed to rape survivors. Referring to the depiction of around 800 women performing Jauhar, she said, “God forbid, if I were a rape survivor, what was this film telling me? I would feel like a coward that I didn't kill myself to save my honour. Is that what you want to tell in a society like ours where I feel that anyways there's a rape epidemic? Is this what you want to tell our survivors that you didn't deserve to live?” She later clarified that she was not calling Rani Padmavati or the women who performed Jauhar “cowards”, claiming her remarks had been wrongly translated and circulated.