Video: Why Swara Bhasker embraces the reputation of being a 'trouble maker'

Dubai - Actress gets candid on how she’s lost out on roles due to her social media activism but nothing can stop her from standing up to bullies

by

Ambica Sachin

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Top Stories

Published: Mon 7 Dec 2020, 3:26 PM

Last updated: Tue 8 Dec 2020, 3:55 PM

With a name like Swara, it’s no wonder that this Bollywood actress, who has solid performances in movies like Tanu Weds Manu and Veere Di Wedding, is not content to let her roles do all the talking. The Delhi-born actress with a Masters from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is known as much for her intense performances in envelope pushing films, as her social media activism. One of the rare actors with a voice, she is unafraid to raise in public, to espouse a cause she believes in or to stand up for those who are being victimised on public platforms, Swara has earned a name as a courageous, no-nonsense actress who refuses to cow down in front of trolls.

Admitting that her social media activism has often been detrimental to her career, Swara is, however, clear she won’t change anything. “Maybe I don’t get enough roles; maybe I don’t get as many big film offers,” she tells us over a Zoom conversation. “A lot of producers have told me that I have the reputation of being a trouble maker, of courting controversy. I’ve been sacked from brand endorsements after campaigning for certain candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. I actually have a contract that says that because of your participation in the CNR-NCC (The Citizenship Amendment Bill Act) protests you’ve brought disrepute on our brand and we terminate your contract.”


But the actress remains unfazed: “As I’ve said, I’m not a paid influencer, I don’t say things because someone is paying me for it.”

“It’s not like I’m taking up a cause because a brand is standing up for me,” she points out. “I’m speaking from a place of conviction and belief and when you speak from a place of conviction you are willing to fight for that.


“You are willing to stand up and you are willing to lose some material things. So you pay a price in that sense and I think that’s really how I look at it. That’s fine.”

The actress is also clear that all this doesn’t affect her acting in any way. “I’m still as dedicated and diligent a performer as I’ve always been,” she stresses. “And I have always been hard working because I believe that is all I have. I’m a young person living alone in Bombay with my pets. My work is my life. That’s what has given me my identity. I take it very seriously.”

From playing supporting roles in movies like Guzaarish and Raanjhanaa, today Swara seems to have found a firmer footing on OTT platforms. This year alone she has headlined three series’ - psychological adult comedy Rashbhari (Amazon Prime), crime thriller Flesh (Eros Now Original) and now Bhaag Beanie Bhaag (Netflix).

“It’s been a hard year for the whole world - there’s been the pandemic, its been pretty depressing, lots of things to be overwhelmed with but strangely I have so much to be grateful for this year,” she admits.

In a year where people have been stuck at home watching OTT series, probably there is no better time to star in not one but three of them!

“I feel lucky and I’m thanking the universe and the powers that be,” she exults.

Bhaag Beanie Bhaag sees Swara playing a 20-something MBA graduate who breaks her engagement to pursue her passion for standup. She says what appealed to her about the series was the fact that standup is a different kind of performing art.

She admits she was terrified not knowing if she could pull it off. “It was a challenge. So I actually became like a student dabbling in standup comedy.”

But she is also at pains to clarify that the series is not just about standup comedians. “I hope the takeaway from this film will be for people to feel it is okay to want something different from what your parents want. And it’s okay to take that leap of faith.

“It’s okay to go with that uncertainty and its okay to make mistakes and fail sometimes. It’s not a big crime. A lot of young people, in the cultures we come from, from the subcontinent or the Middle East where family values are very strong, a lot of us are balancing the expectations of our parents and our families with what we desire. So I think there will be a universal resonance with the show because I think there is a way in which we can stand up for what we want and be able to carry your parents along with you which is really the nicest thing.

Standup at your own risk

Does she believe comedians are an endangered species in India? “You should ask someone who has been attacked - you should ask Kunal Kamra, Agrima Joshua and the other kids who have been harassed.”

“We definitely need to learn to be more tolerant - we keep saying Indians are very tolerant but I don’t see that necessarily always.”

“We need to learn to tolerate freedom of speech and expression as long as it is not something that is inciting violence or being abusive.”

She points out that she’s certainly not someone who’d encourage hate speech. “Freedom of speech does have its limitations and should have its limitations specially in a country like India where the power dynamics is screwed,” she explains.

“But I think feelings can be hurt by anything and we need to introspect ourselves a little bit.”

Does she ever feel that people have lost their sense of humour currently - that they are not willing to see the lighter things?

“It happens everywhere in the world,” she says. “Hate is on the rise and a certain kind of normalization of hate is going on and therefore anything becomes an excuse to express that hate.

“The positive things is that there is backlash and people are standing up against this hatred, and I always see a lot of hope in that.”

“I always think the best comedy is that which is telling you an uncomfortable truth about the world you live in,” she says. “In India as we’ve seen - actually in many parts of the world - that is something that leads to a lot of backlash.

“Comics actually put themselves out there and they are doing some brave things,” she points out. “If you look at Kunal Kamra or Varun Grover - they are all very very brave,” she asserts.

So is she, we point out. After all its not every public figure, especially one whose main source of income comes from entertaining people and basically enjoying their goodwill, who are willing to stick their neck out for strangers on public platforms.

“I have to say really my parents should get the credit for that,” she affirms. “My confidence, my courage and conviction, my faith and my fearless comes from knowing that my parents have my back; my family has my back.

“Whatever happens in the world I can go back to my parents. And really that is the grounding and that’s the foundation that allows me to fly.”

She explains that the most precious gift parents can give children “is to let them know that you will be there for them no matter what.”

“I’m in my 30s and I draw so much strength from the fact that my parents are behind me.”

But she cautions, “that’s not to say one should be irresponsible with that.”

The second thing she attributes her courage to is her education. “My education has given me articulation, reasoning of thinking, questioning of logic, rationality.

This is what helps you stand up for what you believe in - because you can express how you feel and make a case for yourself.”

She also gives a shout out to her supporters - “I’m so grateful for the support I’ve got especially in the last one year because a lot of people in the media and online are realising that this is crazy. Yes, I’ve been going through a certain kind of hatred and backlash for the last 6 years but in the last one or two year a lot of people have begun to realise that we need to stand up and support each other and I have found a lot of support online and in the media and among friends and I’m grateful for that.”

But at the end of the day she’s just living up to her name, isn’t she? 'Swar' is the root word for voice. She laughs out at that. “Yes, I’m a loud speaker for other people’s causes!”

She says the best defence against trolls is to develop a thick skin. And of course she confesses she liberally uses the Quote Retweet function to name and shame people on social media platforms! In fact she seems pretty gleeful about it. “If you saw someone being harassed in a restaurant or on the road, you’d interfere and stop it. So why do we not do that on social media?”

Bhaag Beanie Bhaag is streaming on Netflix now

WHAT"S THE BEST DEFENCE AGAINST TROLLS?

Social media trolls are today the bane of society. They are the ones who have an opinion on just about anything and anyone and are on an agenda-driven mission to abuse and harass those on social media platforms whose opinions and views don’t match theirs.

“The thing about trolling is that firstly it is losers who are doing that,” says Swara who has been the brunt of many of their vile comments. “If the high point of somebody’s day is saying something nasty to you to feel good about themselves then you should know that they are totally worthless and that’s the only worthwhile thing happening in their life thanks to you. So you should feel happy about yourself!,” she says.

She points out that a lot of them are bots, and right wing trolls. “I know when I fight for a certain cause there will be the other camp that will try and discredit you.”

She has only one word of advice for vulnerable youngsters who put themselves out on social media. “You have to develop a thick skin because it is basically bullying. Imagine when we were in school when someone was bullying us - what is the only way to stop bullying? To stand up to it. So you must not allow a bully to get away with it.”

That’s why the actress has made a point to call out trollers on social media especially if they have verified accounts.

“Because I want people to know that you can take on bullies. You don’t have to be scared of them. People shame us; they say nasty things, they say abusive things to silence us... It is the oldest trick in the book of the bully - shaming and silencing. The idea is that they’re looking at silence as sort of surrender and as giving up so I would just say don’t be silenced.

“And I think to retweet is a great way to shame people who are harassing you. It’s the greatest invention of this decade! Quote retweet. I use it liberally!

“And I would tell people, support each other; if you see something happening to a friend or even someone you don’t agree with, stand up and support them.

We must fight for the social media and the virtual public to be a decent place where we have civil discourse, just like we do in a restaurant or the road.”


More news from