While refusing to react to actress Swara Bhaskar’s Open Letter condemning the alleged endorsement of the ancient practice of Jauhar(self-immolation), filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali takes the opportunity to address the issue of jauhar.
“Nowhere in the entire episode showing these fabulously brave women perishing rather than succumbing to the advances of the invader have I come forward to express my own approval of the practice of jauhar.In Satyajit Ray’s Devi Sharmila Tagore’s character is seen as a victim of blind religious faith. It didn’t mean that Manikda(Ray) was endorsing blind faith.”
Bhansali dismisses the belief that he’s propagating jauhar in Padmaavat. “It’s like sayingRitwick Ghatak approved of tuberculosis in Meghe Dhaka Tara just because his heroine succumbed to it…or that Hrishikesh Mukherjee endorsed cancer in Anand…It is the story, it is what happened …Why must a filmmaker be answerable to socio-political interpretations for every action and reaction in his cinema?” asks Bhansali.
The filmmaker has received tremendous responses to the jauhar sequence. “Not all positive. But that’s okay. A healthy debate is an essential part of every democracy. I am glad my film is giving people a reason to think aloud.”
For those enamoured of the first two films in the funny-fearsome franchise, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is deliberately… Read More
Who discovered Smita Patil for cinema? We all think it is Shyam Benegal. But veteran … Read More
The talented Shreyas Talpade admits that the fact he went through a serious health crisis… Read More
Just days before release you had humbug litigation claiming that your film was a copy?… Read More
Nagarjuna: Exclusive On The Criminal Defamation Case Against Telangana Minister Konda Surekha B kha actually… Read More
It’s been 12 years of your English Vinglish, a life-changing experience? Gosh, is it really… Read More
Leave a Comment