(You have to click on the link to read her open letter. It's lengthy, but a great read.)
Indian actress, Swara Bhasker, has penned an open letter to prominent Bollywood director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, over the misogyny in his film "Padmaavat". The letter, titled "At The End of Your Magnum Opus… I Felt Reduced to a Vagina – Only", criticizes Bhansali and the film for glorifying the archaic and brutal act of jauhar (mass self-immolation).
- Bhasker felt that the film presented the act of jauhar in a glamorized way and did not do enough to juxtapose it with commentary making it clear that it is a barbaric practice that should be done away with. She says,
"Then in the climax, breathtakingly shot of course – hundreds of women bedecked in red like Goddess Durga as bride rushed into the Jauhar fire while a raving Muslim psychopathic villain loomed over them and a pulsating musical track – that had the power of an anthem; seduced the audience into being awestruck and admiring of this act. Sir, if this is not glorification and support of Sati and Jauhar, I really do not know what is."- She feels that some of the dialogue (and the voiceover at the end) in the movie tried tying committing jauhar with upholding one's honor. She says,
"There were more than three instances of the ‘good’ characters of your story speaking of Sati/Jauhar as the honourable choice, your female protagonist – epitome of both beauty, brains and virtue sought permission from her husband to commit Jauhar, because she could not even die without his permission; soon after she delivered a long speech about the war between Satya and Asatya, Dharm and Adharm and presented collective Sati to be the path of Truth and Dharm."- Bhasker says that it sends a harmful message, especially since the "death before dishonor" mentality is still pervasive in parts of Indian society. She explains,
"Surely Sir, you agree that Sati, and Jauhar are not practices to be glorified. Surely, you agree that notwithstanding whatever archaic idea of honour, sacrifice, purity propels women and men to participate in and condone such practices; that basically Sati and Jauhar, like the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Honour Killings, are steeped in deeply patriarchal, misogynist and problematic ideas. A mentality that believes that the worth of women lies in their vaginas, that female lives are worthless if the women are no longer controlled by male owners or if their bodies have been ‘desecrated’ by the touch of ; or even the gaze of a male who doesn’t by social sanction ‘own’ or ‘control’ the female."- Bhasker explains,
"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."- She says that Bhansali has the right to make films of his choice and to do it however he wants, however, that does not exempt him or his art from being questioned and criticized.
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Mods, I added the source for the tweet. Swara is really brave for saying this and I hope she doesn't get blacklisted. Of course, there are bunch of men trying to mansplain to her about why she's wrong.
