Shriya Pilgaonkar has weighed in on the fresh Padmaavat Jauhar controversy after Swara Bhasker’s remarks sparked a debate onlineHere’s what the actor said.
Published: September 5, 2026, 3:22 PM IST
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Shriya Pilgaonkar responds to Swara Bhasker’s Jauhar remark (PC: Instagram)
The Padmaavat controversy has found its way back into the spotlight, years after Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film became one of Bollywood’s most debated releases of 2017-2018This time, it is Swara Bhasker’s comments on the film’s Jauhar sequence that have reignited the conversationThe actor recently revisited her criticism of the scene and questioned the message it could send to survivors of sexual violenceHer remarks quickly drew strong reactions online, and now actor Shriya Pilgaonkar has shared her perspective on the debate.
Padmaavat controversy: What did Swara Bhasker say?
Swara Bhasker had earlier written an open letter to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali after watching Padmaavat, raising concerns about the way Jauhar was portrayed in the filmShe recently spoke about the issue again at a recent event in Delhi.
She said, “I’m watching this and it shows all these 800 women committing Jauhar which is the storyWatching it, I was thinking that ‘God forbid, I was a rape survivor, what is this film telling me? I would feel like a cowardThat I didn’t kill myself to save my honourIs that what you want to tell women in a society like ours where I feel like there’s any way a rape epidemicIs that what we want to tell our survivors that you don’t deserve to live? That if you had actually been brave and honourable women, you would have killed yourself? Are we saying that rape is the end of a woman’s life?”
She further said, “There was like one shot that made me so madI was like, ‘Chhee!’ There is a close-up of a pregnant woman’s belly and she’s going… So, you’re saying that a foetus that might be female doesn’t deserve to be born because she might be raped by a Muslim ruler? I was so mad and then I came out and I was like, ‘This is terrible’.”
Her comments led to a fresh wave of criticism, with several people accusing her of ignoring the historical circumstances surrounding JauharSwara later clarified that she was not calling Rani Padmavati or the women who performed Jauhar cowardsShe said her comments had been wrongly translated and that her criticism was directed at the message she felt the film’s portrayal could convey.
Shriya Pilgaonkar reacts to Swara Bhasker’s Jauhar remark
Amid the Padmaavat debate and promotions of her latest film Mirzapur: The Movie, Shriya Pilgaonkar shared a different perspective on the discussionSpeaking about the controversy, she pointed out that the events being discussed belong to a very different period and need to be understood in their historical contextShe also questioned the idea of judging historical events entirely through the lens of present-day circumstances.
while speaking to Filmygyan, Shriya Pilgaonkar said “In 2026, we cannot judge what people living within a 100, 200 or 500-year-old cultural context were thinking, what their values were, what they wanted to do, or the pressures they faced.”
She further shared, “I feel every culture evolves with time. It evolves with circumstances, with situations, and with the human conditionSo, I don’t think it’s fair to assume a particular mindset or make a generic judgment about a time that was fundamentally different from ours.”
Her comments come at a time when the conversation around Padmaavat is no longer limited to the film itself.
About Padmaavat
Padmaavat is a historical drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and released in 2018The film stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh, and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin KhiljiIt is based on the legendary story of Rani Padmavati and the siege of Chittor.
The film became highly controversial before its release, with some Rajput groups accusing it of distorting historical facts and objecting to certain scenesThere were protests and threats against the filmmakers and actors, and the film’s release was delayedDespite the controversy, Padmaavat was released after some changes and received positive reviews for its music, costumes, performances, and grand visuals.
