I Am Not Endorsing Jauhar In ‘Padmaavat’, Clarifies Bhansali

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali talks about the reactions he is getting to the jauhar scene in ‘Padmaavat’.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali with his Rani Padmavati, Deepika Padukone.

(Photo courtesy: Instagram)

While refusing to react to actor Swara Bhasker’s open letter condemning the alleged endorsement of the ancient practice of jauhar (self-immolation) in his film Padmaavat, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali takes the opportunity to address the issue of jauhar to The Quint.

“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.”

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Filmmaker

Bhansali dismisses the belief that he’s propagating jauhar in Padmaavat. “It’s like saying Ritwick 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.

Deepika Padukone in Padmaavat.(Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

The filmmaker has received tremendous responses to the jauhar sequence in his period film. “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,” Bhansali says.