Ever since Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat was announced for shooting, he only faced criticism. Rajput Karni Sena and other fringe groups attacked the film sets and went on protest, rampage till the film was released.
Amidst the yet ongoing protest, actress Swara Bhaskar launched a scathing attack on Director and producer of the film Padmaavat Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She said she felt like a “vagina only” after watching the film.
She claims that the film has brought up the question whether women — widowed, raped, young, old, pregnant, pre-pubescent — have the right to live.
Swara penned down an open letter, which was published on Saturday, has decried the glorification of self-immolation customs of Sati and Jauhar. However, the actress began her note by congratulating Bhansali for being able to release ‘Padmaavat’ in spite of the impediments — something she said she even fought trolls for on social media.
The actress watched the movie “first day, first show”, and decided to share her “concerns” as it left her “stunned”.
“That’s what I felt like at the end of your magnum opus. I felt like a vagina. I felt reduced to a vagina-only.
“I felt like all the ‘minor’ achievements that women and women’s movements have made over the years – like the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to education, equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, the Vishakha judgement, the right to adopt children… All of it was pointless; because we were back to basics.