Source Times entertainment
Taking to her Instagram Stories recently, the actress responded firmly to the renewed backlash, expressing her disbelief over the anger directed at her stance.
“It is WILD that so many people are triggered (women included) by the basic idea that rape survivors have a right to life after rape!” Bhasker wrote, hitting back at trolls who were offended by her remarks.
The fresh wave of debate began when Bhasker revisited her concerns during a recent public event in Delhi. Recalling her initial shock upon viewing the film’s climax—which depicts around 800 women committing Jauhar rather than facing capture and sexual violence—she questioned the underlying message it sent to women today.
“I’m watching this and all of these 800 women committing Jauhar… God forbid if I was a rape survivor, what is this film telling me? I would feel like a coward. That I didn’t kill myself to save my ‘honour’,” she stated.
Bhasker also pointed out a specific moment in the climax involving a pregnant woman that left her infuriated. Questioning the implications of the visual, she asked, “So, you are saying that a fetus that might be a female does not deserve to be born because she might be raped by a Muslim ruler?”
The actress noted that her famous 2018 open letter, which argued that “Women are more than their private parts,” was not an impulsive reaction. She revealed that she waited five days after watching the film to ensure her feelings were clear and objective before publishing it.
Despite clarifying that her critique is centered on how cinema frames violence against women, Bhasker continues to face severe trolling. Detractors have accused her of disrespecting the historical practice of Jauhar and defaming the dignity of Rajput women.
However, Bhasker remains steadfast, maintaining that survivors of sexual violence should never be made to feel that death is the only honorable path to preserve their dignity.
