In a recent interview with the Times of India, Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker remarked that ‘speaking up’ for people and values has cost her severely in her career and that she sometimes struggles even to pay her EMIs on time. This interview followed after Swara participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi.
In the podcast with journalist and author Harinder Baweja, Swara stated that the public and political culture has deteriorated and violence on the streets has normalised in recent times.
Swara Bhasker also admired Rahul Gandhi when she was asked about her participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. She said that she has been admiring Rahul Gandhi since 2018 and that he speaks for people and not ‘sensationalisation.’ She said that she joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra to lend solidarity with the movement.
Rahul Gandhi is a ‘resolved politician’
When the interviewer asked if Rahul Gandhi was a reluctant politician and was in politics because of his predetermined sir name, Swara Bhasker replied ‘No,’ explaining that it is all propaganda around his name in politics. Bhasker stated that she believes Rahul Gandhi is transforming the political culture of the country. She stated that Rahul Gandhi is a ‘resolved politician not fitting the narrative.’
Apparently, Swara Bhasker went into full fangirl mode for Rahul Gandhi, saying that there are more politicians needed who are like Rahul Gandhi. Showering more praises on Gandhi and covering up the failure of the Bharat Jodo Yatra to make up for the election in Gujarat, Swara defended that Rahul Gandhi dissociated his movement from elections because he wanted to speak up for overall transformation.
‘I am a competent actor’
On being asked if she is seen as a troublemaker, Swara Bhasker said that she faces such remarks often. She said that she is a far ‘competent actor’ but fails to come across such deserving opportunities. Smartly skipping mentions of her recent flops, Swara Bhasker stated that she has given many blockbuster movies and web series but she fails to get more work owing to her ‘openness in speaking up.’
“I’m a far better actor and a far more competent, and effective actor than the opportunities that come my way. I have a far better track record in terms of my career. I’ve been part of six or seven blockbuster films and like a whole bunch of web series shows, led them. I’ve never had bad reviews pretty much. There shouldn’t be a reason for me to feel like I don’t get enough work but clearly, I don’t,” she said.
Born in ‘different India’
Swara Bhaskar recalled how a brand endorsement of her was cancelled as the brand stated that she brought disrepute to the brand by participating in the protests, which were violent at times, burning the CAA-NRC discourse.
Swara Bhasker stated that she was born in a different India as she was not trained to be bigoted when she was a child, implying that all the kids born presently get professional training in bigotry.
Again taking on her rant on Hindutva, Swara stated that she finds the ‘Right Wing’ discourse so misogynistic and sexist. Swara Bhasker, known very well for her anti-Hindu and anti-Modi remarks in the recent past, at last, invoked the ‘Muslim persecution’ element in her responses to a question. She hailed herself for speaking up for ‘Muslim Solidarity’ by narrating a story of herself getting praise from a Muslim in past.
Though Bhasker felt herself a capable performer, recent films in which she appeared were not favourably appreciated by audiences. Her film “Jahan Chaar Yaar,” which was released on September 16, 2022, tanked at the box office. The trailer for the film was so bad that it was practically forgotten after its release on August 22, 2022.
Swara Bhasker’s virtue signalling with poor professional choices the cause of her undoing
While Bhasker held forth on how the public and political culture deteriorated in India, adding that violence on the streets had become the new normal, she did not elaborate on how Islamists have been going on a rampage, indulging in violence, vandalism, and arson. It is worth noting that Bhasker, who is trying to project moral superiority by raising concerns about the violence-stricken streets of India, had supported Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who painted a target behind former BJP leader Nupur Sharma, galvanising Islamists across the country into launching ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ protests against the beleaguered leader.
Bhasker later backed Zubair after Sharma filed a complaint against the Alt News co-founder for sharing an edited version of her clip that led to Islamists issuing threats to her and her family. Instead of standing in solidarity with Sharma, Bhasker tried to dismiss her concerns and rationalise a preposterous explanation proffered by Pratik Sinha, another Alt News co-founder with a history of peddling fake news.
here’s a thread on what happened.. #nupursharmabjp https://t.co/dgqPyCgA0P
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) June 5, 2022
Instead of holding Islamists and violent protesters who took to the streets on the pretext of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, a concept which is alien to India and is characteristic of Islamist regimes in the Middle East, where the Muslim majority often use the false excuse of blasphemy to settle scores with minorities and whip up a communal frenzy against them.
Bhasker also berated Nupur Sharma on Twitter, indirectly giving a free pass to those who took to the streets against the former BJP leader for her remarks on Prophet Muhammad that were distilled from authentic Islamic hadiths. While slamming Sharma on the microblogging platform, Bhasker also used the occasion to needlessly politicise the issue and attack Navika Kumar and Times Now for providing their platform to the former BJP leader.
She sounds like a vile person,
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 1, 2022
But blaming only #NupurSharma is a cop out- We all know the leaders who started it, fanned it, won elections off it & the ecosystem that kept it alive.
Hate is a 🔥 .. India 🇮🇳 Is burning in it now! Oh, also Hi @navikakumar @TimesNow having fun?
While Bhasker went hammer and tongs to criticise Nupur Sharma and side with Mohammed Zubair, she studiously avoided making critical remarks against the Alt News co-founder arrested for his Hinduphobic social media posts from the past. Instead of calling out Zubair for his derogatory posts against Hindu Gods and Goddesses, ironically the same charge that he accused Nupur Sharma of, Bhasker projected Zubair’s arrest as a “shameful witch-hunt” and demanded his release.
Shameful witch-hunt!#ReleaseZubair https://t.co/NBatIznaMS
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 4, 2022
Weeks later, when Zubair was released on bail, Bhasker hailed Supreme Court for its decision.
Thank you Supreme Court!
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 20, 2022
More power to you #VrindaGrover !
Onward and upward @zoo_bear
✨🙏🏽
The glaring hypocrisy in the above case highlights Bhasker’s virtue signalling and her utter disregard for her morals and ideals, which she selectively leans on for matters that are in convergence with her political ideology.
Bhasker also recently came out in support of actor Richa Chadha after she suffered a severe blowback on Twitter for her unwarranted comments mocking Indian braveheart’s supreme sacrifice during the Galwan clashes.
. @RichaChadha strength and love to you! 💙
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) November 26, 2022
Bhasker’s unsolicited support for Chadha backfired as social media users condemned the actor for supporting a person who made a facetious comment on the Indian Army and undermined its ability to capture PoK.
Such hypocritical and anti-India stances have contributed to Swara Bhasker’s declining popularity among the masses, who saw her as a hypocrite who lectured the country on morality and ethics while not following them herself. Her alignment with anti-India forces has also played a part in diminishing her professional opportunities.
However, above everything else, Bhasker has fallen from the grace of the movie producers because of her own poor professional choices. She has been a part of movies that lack a coherent story, gripping screenplay, or entertaining masala that would attract people to the theatres. Producers do not want to plunk down their money on someone who is awful at their primary skill and then have the gall of pontificating to others on matters of socio-political import, only to end up exposing their own hypocrisy.
