Ranvir Shorey Slams Swara Bhasker Over Controversial ‘Padmaavat’ Jauhar Remarks
The long-standing debate surrounding Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2018 epic Padmaavat has been reignited, with Bollywood actor Ranvir Shorey launching a scathing critique of Swara Bhasker following her recent comments regarding the film’s climactic “Jauhar” sequence.
The controversy stems from Bhasker’s participation in a “Woman, Life, Freedom” discussion held at the India International Centre in Delhi. During the event, the actress revisited her infamous open letter to Bhansali, in which she had labeled the portrayal of the mass self-immolation ritual as “problematic.”
The Core of the Controversy
During the talk, Bhasker questioned the messaging behind the scene, specifically how it impacts modern-day rape survivors. “I was watching it, and I thought that if God forbid, I was a rape survivor, what is this film telling me?” she remarked. “I would feel like a coward that I didn’t commit suicide to save my honour. Is that what we want to tell our survivors… that they don’t deserve to live?”
Bhasker also expressed visceral disgust toward a specific close-up shot of a pregnant woman participating in the ritual, questioning if the film suggests that an unborn female child should be denied life simply to avoid the prospect of future assault.
Ranvir Shorey’s Fierce Retort
The comments did not go unnoticed by her peers. Taking to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Ranvir Shorey vehemently condemned Bhasker’s comparison.
“I still don’t get it! Comparing Jauhar (suicide by fire in defiance of inevitable and endless rape, violence and even necrophilia!) to rape survivors? Where’s the connection?” Shorey wrote. He further accused Bhasker of having a hidden agenda, stating, “The only intention can be to malign one group of people while trying to whitewash the other! Utterly shameless!”
Defense of the Film
The debate surrounding the film is not new. Shortly after the movie’s release and the initial backlash from Bhasker, Padmaavat writer Prakash Kapadia defended the narrative choice. He maintained that the Jauhar sequence was a depiction of historical reality rather than an endorsement of the act. Kapadia dismissed the controversy as “unnecessary,” emphasizing that the film sought to portray the tragic choices forced upon women during a specific, brutal era of history.
As the debate continues to unfold online, it highlights the persistent tension between modern feminist interpretations of cinema and the portrayal of historical practices in period dramas. Neither Bhasker nor Shorey has issued further statements since the exchange.
