Ranvir Shorey Blasts Swara Bhasker Over ‘Padmaavat’ Jauhar Scene Remark

Actor Ranvir Shorey publicly criticised fellow actor Swara Bhasker over her controversial remarks regarding the climax of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2018 period drama Padmaavat. The dispute erupted on social media after Bhasker penned an open letter expressing strong disapproval of the film’s portrayal of Jauhar, the practice of mass self-immolation historically undertaken by women to avoid capture. The exchange sparked widespread debate across the Hindi film industry and online platforms regarding historic portrayals, creative expression, and modern political commentary. Swara Bhasker Clarifies Remarks on ‘Padmaavat’ Jauhar Scene Amid Backlash.

Ranvir Shorey Criticises Swara Bhasker

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice his disagreement, Shorey targeted the core premise of Bhasker’s critique. In her open letter, Bhasker argued that the film's climactic sequence glorified archaic practices and claimed it reduced women's worth strictly to their anatomy.

Shorey challenged this perspective by emphasising the extreme wartime context of Jauhar, accusing Bhasker of drawing false equivalences and misrepresenting historical realities to push a specific political narrative.

"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 trying to whitewash the other! Utterly shameless!"

X Post of Ranvir Shorey

The  ‘Padmaavat’ Controversy and Open Letter

The rift between the two actors stems from an open letter written by Swara Bhasker addressed to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali shortly after Padmaavat was released. In her piece, Bhasker argued that despite the film's scale, the Jauhar scene glorified self-immolation and presented women’s honour as strictly bound to physical modesty.

Bhasker's letter sparked immediate backlash from several quarters, including industry writers, historical commentators, and public figures who noted that the scene depicted historical tragic choices made under wartime siege rather than endorsing the practice in a modern context. Shorey’s stance underscored these counterarguments, emphasising that honouring historical sacrifices should not be conflated with modern gender critiques. Swara Bhasker’s Husband Fahad Ahmad Comes to Her Defence Amid ‘Padmaavat’ Remark Backlash.

The clash highlights a persistent division within Bollywood regarding political commentary, historic adaptations, and artistic representation. While a segment of social media users and commentators defended Bhasker’s right to offer a critical view of cinema, others commended Shorey for defending historical context against what they viewed as an ideological misinterpretation of medieval conflict.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2026 12:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).