Swara Bhaskar Criticises ‘Padmaavat’ Jauhar Scene Says The Scene Troubled Her

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BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS Swara Bhaskar criticises the Jauhar scene in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’. After appearing at the Woman Life Freedom Talk at the India International Centre in Delhi on August 31, 2026, the actress explained how the film’s portrayal of Jauhar affected her when she watched it. She showed concerns about that one particular climatic scene’s perception of the sexual violence by the survivors. Since her comments, people began questioning her historical interpretation on social media.

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How that One Jauhar Scene from ‘Padmaavat’ made Swara Question 

At the centre, the one particular scene from the film ‘Padmaavat’ forced Swara to question. The sequence where the idea of sexual violence made a woman’s life lose its value. Her criticism is mainly on the modern-day implications of how the Jauhar was portrayed in the film was framed as an honour, especially in such a society where survivors of sexual violence faces such blemish.

She said, “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.” 

Her comments led people to be divided on social media. Given the historical circumstances of the Jauhar, some argued that such acts in the film were captured to describe the threat during a battle. A social media user told, “According to Swara, Hindu women who committed Jauhar or suicide were ‘Cowards’ because they chose to die over the prospect of leading their lives as concubines of Muslim invader.” Another user said that, “Jauhar was and remains an act of utmost bravery in the face of unimaginable brutality.”

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Swara Bhaskar’s Comments and That Jauhar Scene

The film ‘Padmaavat’ came out in 2018, and during the climax the portrayal of Jauhar appears to be the most brutal scene of them all. Actress Deepika Padukone’s character Padmavati led the women in a fort in a sacrificial act of self-burn just to avoid being captured by the Mughals. Shahid Kapoor’s Maharawal Ratan Singh dies and the particular sequence shows the women choosing death over being captives. This one scene landed many controversies after its releaseand was one of the most talked about controversies during its time of release.

Swara’s characterisation of Jauhar left the social media users to speak out. Swara sent a personal letter to the film’s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali after she watched the film and objected to the portrayal of Jauhar and she believed that it glorified the practice. On August 31, 2026, Swara recalled that one shot of a pregnant woman that made her furious. She recollected the memory and said, “There was like one shot that made me so mad. I was like, ‘Chhee!’ There was a close-up of a pregnant woman’s belly and she’s going… So, you’re saying that a foetus that might be female doesn’t deserve to be born because she might be raped by a Muslim ruler? I was so mad and then I came out and I was like, ‘This is terrible’.” 

The film had a disclaimer stating that the film does not promote or support Sati or Jauhar. The leading actress of the film, Deepika Padukone, defended the film when it was released and showed her support on the Jauhar scene.

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