Actress Swara Bhasker who has always been open about her opinions on Saturday she asked Sanjay Leela Bhansali to explain the act of Sati and Jauhar in his film. The actress even praised the filmmaker, she even supported in his battle against the fringe group who threatened the team and were against to release the film. She wrote an open letter where she mentioned everything about ‘Padmaavat’ and some of the decisions of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
The actress even said that she wondered if the filmmaker remembers that she has worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in ‘Guzaarish’, she had a small role in the film. She loves the filmmaker’s art but needs to point out some of the decisions the filmmaker had made in ‘Padmaavat’. Talking about a particular scene where Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) commits herself to fire to protect her honour. Here are some of the points she has raised:
Women have the right to live, despite being raped, sir.Women have the right to live, despite the death of their husbands, male ‘protectors’, ‘owners’, ‘controllers of their sexuality’... Whatever you understand the men to be.
Women have the right to live — independent of whether men are living or not.
Women have the right to live. Period.
Women are not only walking talking vaginas.
Yes, women have vaginas, but they have more to them as well. So their whole life need not be focused on the vagina and controlling it, protecting it, maintaining its purity. (Maybe in the 13th century that was the case, but in the 21st century, we do not need to subscribe to these limiting ideas. We certainly do not need to glorify them. )
It would be nice if the vaginas are respected; but in the unfortunate case that they are not, a woman can continue to live. She need not be punished with death because another person disrespected her vagina without her consent.
There is life outside the vagina, and so there can be life after rape. (I know I repeat, but this point can never be stressed enough.)
In general, there is more to life than the vagina.
The actress also said in defense that the movie is historical in nature and he is just representing the history. But she wondered whether that means women who are raped, divorced, young and old have the right to live their life just because they were not even treated like a human-being with the agency in the film. She said, “The context of your film is India in the 21st century; where five years ago, a girl was gang-raped brutally in the country’s capital inside a moving bus.”
She concluded by writing, “Mr. Bhansali, I will end in peace; wishing that you make many more films the way you want to, and are allowed to shoot and release them in peace; that you, your actors, your producers, your studio and your audiences remain safe from threats and vandalism. I promise to fight trolls and television commentators for your freedom to express; but I also promise to ask you questions about the art you make for public consumption. Meanwhile, let’s hope that no zealot member of any Karni Sena or some Marni Sena gets the idea to demand decriminalisation of the practice of Sati!”
