Jauhar was bravery: Internet shreds Swara Bhasker as she revisits Padmaavat letter

Actor Swara Bhasker's comments on Padmaavat and its portrayal of jauhar have sparked a fresh debate online. Social media users have reacted strongly after she revisited the open letter she wrote to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2017. While Swara questioned the film's portrayal of jauhar, sexual violence and honour, several users pushed back, with one calling jauhar an "act of bravery" and others accusing the actor of overlooking its historical context.Swara revisited the controversy while speaking at a panel discussion in New Delhi. She recalled questioning what the film's depiction of jauhar could mean for rape survivors.A clip of Swara speaking about the film has since gone viral, drawing strong reactions from several social media users.One X user wrote, "If Swara were there during Khilji days, Alauddin would've committed Jauhar himself." Another user criticised her interpretation of jauhar, writing, "Jauhar was and remains an act of utmost bravery in the face of unimaginable brutality." The user further argued that Swara was making a false comparison between the experiences of rape survivors and women who chose jauhar in the face of invasion.Another comment read, "Rape survivors are not the same as women who are forced to surrender themselves to an invader." Several users argued that Swara's comments did not take into account the historical circumstances surrounding jauhar. One post said that women who committed jauhar were choosing death over captivity and sexual slavery.Another user wrote, "Historical context zero, woke rona 100/100," while accusing the actor of viewing the issue without considering the circumstances of the time.Some reactions also turned personal and derogatory, with users mocking and abusing the actor.What did Swara Bhasker say about Padmaavat?Swara was speaking at a panel discussion in New Delhi when she recalled the open letter she wrote to Bhansali following the Padmaavat controversy.The actor said she was disturbed by the thought of what the film's narrative could communicate to survivors of sexual violence.Recalling the jauhar sequence, Swara said, "God forbid if I was a rape survivor. What is this thing telling me? I would feel like a coward if I didn't kill myself to save my honour."She questioned whether such a narrative could make survivors feel that they did not deserve to continue living after sexual violence.Swara also recalled being particularly upset by a shot showing a close-up of a pregnant woman's belly. She said she interpreted the scene as raising troubling questions about whether a female foetus should be denied life because of the threat of sexual violence.According to Swara, she did not immediately write the open letter out of anger. She said she waited for five days to process her reaction before putting her thoughts into words.The actor also addressed the headline generated from one line in her letter — "I felt like a vagina" — saying it overshadowed the larger point she was trying to make about women being more than their bodies.Her latest remarks, however, have once again divided opinion online, with critics strongly disagreeing with her reading of jauhar and Padmaavat's portrayal of the practice.- EndsPublished By: shweta keshriPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 12:24 IST