Mumbai, Sep 6 (IANS) Actress Poonam Pandey has strongly reacted to Swara Bhasker’s remarks about the jauhar sequence depicted in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Poonam criticized Swara’s comments and said she was surprised that someone she considered educated and intelligent would make such a statement. The ‘Nasha’ actress said she used to be a fan of the actress but disagreed with what she had said about the film. She questioned why Swara had made such comments and argued that the makers had portrayed the historical account rather than creating a fictional story.
“I used to be her fan, a long time ago. Now, whatever she said… She shouldn't have said that,” Poonam said. She further expressed her disappointment over Swara’s comments, describing them as a “very stupid thing to say.” She added that she had always considered Swara to be “so educated and so smart” and said she was upset to hear her speak about the film in that manner.
Poonam stated, She said, “I used to be her fan a long time ago. Now, whatever she said… What should I say to her? She shouldn’t have said that. The makers only showed history. They didn’t make up a story. Sanjay Leela Bhansali showed a film based on history.”
“I have a lot of anger inside me. No, I don’t want to… Because it’s a very stupid thing to say something like this. I always found her so educated and so smart. And a woman like her coming out and saying something so rubbish. She… I mean… Her tongue is bad, her face looks bad too,” added Poonam.
For the unversed, Swara Bhasker recently drew attention with her comments on the jauhar scene in the film “Padmaavat.” The actress spoke at the “Woman Life Freedom” talk held at the India International Centre in Delhi on August 31, where she criticized the depiction of the sequence in the film.
Speaking at the event, Swara made a strong observation about the jauhar sequence shown towards the end of the film. She said that the portrayal could send the wrong message to rape survivors and questioned whether the scene suggested that women should choose death to preserve their honour.
She was quoted as saying, “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.”
--IANS
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