Actor Ranvir Shorey has criticised Swara Bhasker over her comments about the Jauhar sequence in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. The actor questioned her comparison between the historical practice of Jauhar and the experiences of rape survivors, calling her remarks “utterly shameless”.
The exchange comes after Swara’s earlier comments about the controversial sequence resurfaced. The actress had described the depiction as “problematic” and raised concerns about the message it could convey to survivors of sexual violence.
Taking to X on Wednesday, Ranvir questioned the connection between the two subjects. He wrote, “I still don’t get it! Comparing Jauhar (suicide by fire in defiance of inevitable and endless rape, violence and even necrophilia!) to rape survivors? Where’s the connection? They’re two completely different sets.”
He further alleged that the comparison was intended to favour one group over another, adding, “The only intention can be to malign one group of people while trying to whitewash the other! Utterly shameless.”
I still don’t get it! Comparing Jauhar (suicide by fire in defiance of inevitable and endless rape, violence and even necrophilia!) to rape survivors? Where’s the connection? They’re two completely different sets! The only intention can be to malign one group of people while…
— Ranvir Shorey (@RanvirShorey) September 2, 2026
What Swara Bhasker said about Padmaavat
Swara had previously written an open letter to Bhansali after Padmaavat was released. She revisited her concerns during a recent Woman, Life, Freedom talk at the India International Centre in Delhi.
Speaking about the Jauhar sequence, Swara said she wondered how a rape survivor might respond to its depiction. “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.”
She questioned whether the scene suggested that rape marked the end of a woman’s life and added, “This scene was so problematic.”
Swara also recalled being particularly disturbed by a close-up of a pregnant woman’s belly during the Jauhar sequence. She questioned the implication of showing an unborn child in the context of the violence depicted in the film.
She said the sequence left her deeply upset and that she waited several days to see if she continued to feel the same way before writing her open letter to Bhansali.
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