Actor Swara Bhasker has recalled the open letter she wrote to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali during the release of his film Padmaavat in 2017.
Bhasker had earlier criticised the jauhar scene, saying it reflected a mindset that was unacceptable of sexual assault survivors in society.
She said she kept thinking about what such a narrative could mean for rape survivors in a society where there is already a "rape epidemic."
Recalling her response, Swara said, "I was watching this story about all these 800 women committing jauhar.
Are we saying that rape is an end of a woman's life?"
Actor Swara Bhasker has recalled the open letter she wrote to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali during the release of his film Padmaavat in 2017. Referring to the highly publicised jauhar scene in the climax, the 38-year-old said her response to the film was shaped by what she felt it suggested about sexual violence, honour and survival.
Bhasker had earlier criticised the jauhar scene, saying it reflected a mindset that was unacceptable of sexual assault survivors in society. She said she kept thinking about what such a narrative could mean for rape survivors in a society where there is already a "rape epidemic."
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While speaking at a panel discussion titled 'Woman Life Freedom' at the India International Centre in New Delhi on Monday, the Veere Di Wedding actor said she was disturbed by the possibility that survivors could be made to feel they did not deserve to live, or that they would have been considered honourable only if they had killed themselves.
The 38-year-old also recalled being angered by a particular shot in the film, and said she took five days to sit with her reaction before writing the letter that was eventually published.
Recalling her response, Swara said, "I was watching this story about all these 800 women committing jauhar. I was like, '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'. Is that what you want in a society like ours where there is, anyway, a rape epidemic?"
She went on, "Is this what we want to tell our survivors that you don't deserve to live? That if you actually had been honourable and brave women, you would have killed yourself. Are we saying that rape is an end of a woman's life?"
"There are so many things that are problematic in the film. And then there is one shot that made me so mad I was like screaming 'Chhee' at the audience loudly. There is a close-up of a pregnant woman's belly. So, you are saying the foetus that might be female doesn't deserve to be born because she might be raped by a Muslim ruler? I was so mad, and I thought this was terrible," Swara added.
Swara Bhaskar speaks about her letter to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the scene of Jauhar in the movie Padmavat pic.twitter.com/6X4Z0SvFtC— Yeshi Seli (@YeshiSeli) August 31, 2026
Based on Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s 1540 epic poem Padmavat, the period drama featured Deepika Padukone as Queen Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh, and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji.
Even prior to its release, the film was embroiled in intense nation-wide controversy, facing violent protests and ban demands from Rajput groups over alleged historical distortion. Despite the political storm and a title change from Padmavati to Padmaavat, the film went on to become a major commercial blockbuster, grossing over Rs 585 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk.
Swara mentioned that while people assumed she acted out of anger, she waited five days to confirm her feelings before publishing the letter.
Swara also spoke about one line from the letter and the way it was turned into a headline. She said, "This was one line in the letter where I was trying to say women are more than their private parts. And watching this film made me feel that I am reduced to a vagina. And then they thought this would make a great headline."
"So the headline was 'I felt like a vagina'. And you could imagine nobody in India reads beyond these headlines. So imagine what happened, that is another saga," the actor concluded.
On the personal front, Swara got married to politician Fahad Ahmad on January 6, 2023. Swara and Fahad registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act. They later made a public announcement on February 16, 2023.
The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Raabiyaa, in September 2023.
Meanwhile, Swara was last seen in the show Pati, Patni Aur Panga, and her last film was Jahaan Chaar Yaar (2022).
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