Poonam Pandey slams Swara Bhasker’s review of ‘Padmaavat’ jauhar as ‘a very stupid thing’: ‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali showed a film based on the story’ |

Poonam Pandey has reacted sharply to Swara Bhasker’s recent comments on jauhar’s performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’. The actress expressed her disagreement with Swara’s criticism of the film and questioned her decision to comment on a sequence depicting a historical event.Speaking to IANS, Poonam said that she had once been a fan of Swara and considered her to be an educated and intelligent person. However, he made it clear that he did not agree with the actor’s opinion of the film.

Poonam Pandey questions Swara Bhasker’s criticism

Poonam argued that ‘Padmaavat’ was based on a historical account and suggested that the makers had not invented the events depicted in the film.“I used to be her fan, a long time ago. Now, whatever she said… I shouldn’t have said that,” Poonam said.He further disputed Swara’s observations and reiterated his view that Bhansali’s film sought to present history rather than create a fictional narrative.“I was her fan a long time ago. Now, whatever she said… What should I tell her? She shouldn’t have said that. The makers only showed the story. They didn’t invent a story. Sanjay Leela Bhansali showed a film based on the story.”

Poonam Pandey expresses anger over Swara’s comments

Poonam also spoke about her strong emotional reaction to Swara’s comments, describing them as “a very stupid thing.” She said she was especially surprised by the great respect she previously had for the actor.“I have a lot of anger inside me. No, I don’t want to… Because it is a very stupid thing to say something like this. I always found her so polite and so intelligent. And a woman like her coming out and saying something so rubbish. She… I mean… Her tongue is bad, her face looks bad too,” Poonam added.His comments have brought renewed attention to the debate surrounding the ending of ‘Padmaavat’ and its depiction of jauhar, particularly the contrasting ways in which the sequence has been interpreted.

What Swara Bhasker said about ‘Padmaavat’

Swara recently revisited the controversial sequence during the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ talk at the India International Center in Delhi on August 31. While talking about the representation of women and violence in cinema, she questioned the message conveyed by the jauhar scene in Bhansali’s film.Swara expressed concern about how survivors of sexual violence might perceive the sequence, particularly if it is interpreted as suggesting that dying is preferable to surviving rape.She was quoted as saying: “I was watching it and I thought, God forbid, I’m a rape survivor, what does this movie say to me? I would feel like a coward if I didn’t kill myself to save my honor. Is that what you want to tell in a society like ours, where I feel like there is a rape epidemic anyway? Is this what we want to tell our survivors who don’t deserve to live, that if you had really been an honorable and brave woman, you would have killed?” yourself. Are we saying that rape is the end of a woman’s life? “This scene was very problematic.”

Swara Bhasker on the work front

Professionally, Swara Bhasker was last seen in ‘Jahaan Chaar Yaar’ and ‘Mimamsa’.