Swara Bhasker REACTS To Backlash After Being Trolled For Padmaavat Jauhar Scene Remark; Says, “Wild So Many People Are Triggered”

Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker has reignited a social media debate with her comments on Deepika Padukone’s 2018 film Padmaavat. The actor spoke about the Jauhar scene in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film during the Woman Life Freedom talk at the India International Centre in Delhi on August 31. Her remarks sparked backlash online, following which Swara responded on X. Scroll down to read the full story.

Swara Bhasker Responds To Backlash

Taking to X, Swara addressed the criticism surrounding her comments. She wrote, “It is WILD that so many people are triggered (women included) by the basic idea that rape survivors have a right to life after rape!”

This! pic.twitter.com/UaPifAS8BA

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) September 1, 2026

What Did Swara Say?

Speaking at the event, Swara made a statement about the Jauhar sequence shown towards the end of Padmaavat, arguing that it could send the wrong message to rape survivors.

She said, “I was watching it, and I thought that if God forbid, I was a rape survivor, what is this film telling me? I would feel like a coward that I didn’t commit suicide to save my honour. Is that what you want to tell in a society like ours where I feel like anyway there is a rape epidemic. Is this what we want to tell our survivors that they don’t deserve to live, that if you actually would have be a honourable and brave women, you would have killed yourself. Are we saying that rape is end of a woman’s life? This scene was so problematic.”

She further added, “Then there was this one shot, which made me so mad that I shouted ‘chii’ loudly, there is a close-up of a pregnant woman’s belly performing jauhar. So you are telling me that fetus, which might be a female, doesn’t deserve to be born because she might be raped by a Muslim ruler. I was so mad. I waited for five days to check if I still feel like that, and after five days, I wrote a letter.”

Swara was referring to the open letter she wrote to Sanjay Leela Bhansali following the release of Padmaavat in 2018.

What Was The Jauhar Scene In Padmaavat?

In Padmaavat, the Jauhar sequence appears towards the climax after Alauddin Khilji’s forces defeat the Rajputs and breach the fort of Chittor. Deepika Padukone’s Rani Padmavati leads the women of the fort into Jauhar, which is portrayed in the film as a collective act of self-immolation to avoid capture.

The sequence follows the death of Shahid Kapoor’s Maharawal Ratan Singh and Khilji’s eventual victory over Chittor. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Padmaavat is a 2018 Hindi epic period drama starring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji.

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