Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar has yet again come to limelight with her stern view on the ongoing boycott row of bollywood films of both small and big budget. According to her, this act have raised sensitivity of Indian audiences which will certainly distort the artistic process of filmmaking. With true conviction, she elucidates that, “The more you limit freedom and build an atmosphere of fear, the more your art, culture, your entertainment, and artistic performances will suffer. Art cannot be produced in an atmosphere of fear.”
The actor expressed her sheer disappointment on how this supposed boycott culture has crafted an ambience wherein the viewers has sparked a rage backed with no accountability. She further adds on that, “In the last few years, we literally had cases of leading directors – Prakash Jha and Sanjay Leela Bhansali- being attacked on their own film sets. Of course, people are scared. It’s not just the filmmakers, but the whole population is scared. You live in a country where you can go to jail for a Facebook post and this happens across states. It’s not about any one place or the other. So of course that is going to affect the industry and the process of making art with an open mind.”
She affirms her statement by adding that, “But at the same time, the more the perception of fear, the more there will be different voices coming out in different ways. I am 100 percent sure about that.” Swara also believes that in the ever-altering dynamic of the film industry, films portraying social and ethical relevance will take a stand in the years to come. But also agrees on the fact that at the day’s end, it’s merely an art form.
“It should not be seen as propaganda, political pamphlets, or jhanda, parcha, morcha…political rally. All that’s required is for the film to be true to the art and literature part of it…the craft of it. If all that is taken care of, it will be good cinema,” averred Swara.
