Swara Bhasker has often been outspoken and upfront on various issues. Be it politics or women issues, the actress has always taken a stand even when netizens brutally troll her. In her career, she has done various unconventional roles which have given her critical acclaim. But, recently, the actress admitted that Raanjhanaa, starring Sonam Kapoor, Dhanush and her, glorified stalking.
Swara Bhasker made an appearance on Kareena Kapoor Khan‘s radio show, What Women What. When Kareena asked whether masala movies should also have a responsible angle, Swara said that the films are to entertain but she agreed that there should be a responsibility. “I think so. I think aware hona zaroori hai. I always feel ki films kahaani hai. Woh naara nahi hai, manifesto nahi hai kisi bhi political party ya kisi movement ka. Woh kisi textbook ka chapter nahi hai feminism par ya kisi bhi aur ‘ism’ par. Woh ek kahaani hai. Whatever you are showing, the drive and emotionality has to be correct. Still, I think it’s good to be aware and I feel it’s a learning process (I think so. I think one has to be aware. I feel movies are stories. They are not a slogan or a manifesto of a political party or a movement. Those are not a chapter of a textbook, or on feminism or any ‘ism’ for that matter. Films are stories. Whatever you are showing, the drive and emotionality has to be correct. Still, I think it’s good to be aware and I feel it’s a learning process),” Swara said.
Talking about her own film Raanjhanaa, Swara admitted that the film glorified stalking and she learned it over the time. “Bindiya was one of my favourite characters and I really liked that film. My boyfriend (writer Himanshu Sharma) had written it. When it came out, it got panned by feminists for glorifying stalking. Ki aapne stalking ko aur chhed-chhaad ko ek khaas kism ka cute banake dikhaya. Mere ko bohot din tak lagta raha ki nahi yaar, that’s not true. Yeh hamari mansha nahi thi, hamara intention nahi tha. But then as time passed, I was like, actually, maybe yes. There is an element of… Because woh kahaani itni Dhanush ke character ke perspective se hai. So, I think it is a learning process (Bindiya was one of my favourite characters and I really liked that film. My boyfriend (writer Himanshu Sharma) had written it. When it came out, it got panned by feminists for glorifying stalking. Like, you guys have shown stalking and racketeering in a cute way. For many days, I thought that it is not true. That wasn’t our intention at all. But then as time passed, I was like, actually, maybe yes. There is an element because the film was from Dhanush’s character’s perspective. So, I think it is a learning process),” she added.
Swara Bhasker and Kareena Kapoor Khan, last year, worked together in Veere Di Wedding which also starred Sonam Kapoor and Shikha Talsania. The film, directed by Shashanka Ghosh, was a hit.
