Lone warrior Swara Bhasker, who has been taking on vicious trolls ever since she spoke up about the Kathua and Unnao gang rapes on social media, talks about her battle.
For better or for worse you have become a voice that is heard on social media. Isn’t that a huge responsibility?
I never saw raising my voice or speaking out on social media as being part of a responsibility. It was always something organic. As an artiste and a thinking person, you know that you engage with the world around you. The thing with social media is that sometimes the things you see on it are so extreme and so horrifying that you are forced into a reaction.
And, then comes the backlash…
Honestly speaking, yes. Perhaps it is also because there are not enough people speaking out honestly. And, then the fact that I have a public profile because of my film work draws more attention from people. It does put a burden of responsibility because when you are under the public gaze you become more careful about what you are saying.
How important is it for celebrities to speak up and why do we see so few from the film fraternity voice their protest?
People say that celebrities should speak up and voice their opinion, but look at the kind of hate that has come to all of us when we did. This placard campaign that we initiated, I reached out to so many of my friends and colleagues from the industry and so many of them responded because they also felt strongly about this case. It brought even more attention to the issue. It spread far out into villages in Rajasthan and elsewhere in India. The hatred we got was horrifying.
Hatred from whom, where?
Especially from the organised trolls of the Sangh Parivar and BJP itself, the kind of vicious trolling and frankly, irrelevant, stupid and hateful messages that have been coming. And then you ask yourself why should Bollywood put itself out there.
Does this deter you from your campaigns on social media?
Now, I am engaging with activism in Bollywood even more. I realise why so many stars remain silent on so many issues. Because, why would you want to put yourself out there? Bollywood personalities are vulnerable because everyone knows our faces. Most of them know our whereabouts, where we live. Why should we become vulnerable to such crazy hounding?
So, you think Bollywood has no reason to take up social causes?
Frankly, I really don’t think the onus should be on Bollywood anymore, because a society that does not respect artistes does not deserve us speaking up. As people, we don’t respect freedom of speech or a dissenting opinion. Why is India not responsive to issues of citizens’ rights, social responsibility or freedom of expression as in the US?
How do you deal with all the hatred and trolls? Do you take them head on? Are you not worried about your safety?
It is tiring to see the kind of hatred and violence as well as the ignorance and illiteracy prevalent on social media. I know some of them are paid. What kind of society have we become that people take money to write such vile things about the gang-rape of an eight-year-old girl. I tell myself that I am fighting a good fight. Whenever society goes through a terrible phase, the path to stand for whatever is right will always be harder.
Most trolls just want attention…
People ask me why I reply to trolls; they are nobody. The point is that they may be nobody, but maybe there are ten people who are reading their tweets and getting influenced by their bullshit. It is very important to expose the hatred and the low level of humanity of these trolls. And, some of them are public figures. It is important to call them out because silence in times like these would be complicity.
Why is that when you speak out against outrage you get no support from within your own fraternity? You spoke for Kareena Kapoor Khan. But she didn’t speak for herself...
Like I said, I understand now why Bollywood stars don’t get involved, don’t speak out because the kind of hatred they receive at the end is quite shocking. As far as Kareena and Saif are concerned, the kind of wild filth they had to deal with over naming their son Taimur must have been quite traumatic. I completely understand why Kareena won’t get involved in a match with trolls. But, as a colleague and especially as I had asked her to participate in the placard campaign, it became my responsibility to support her.
Do you somewhere feel that your work may suffer due to your outspokenness?
I think that I’m standing up for what is right. Standing up for constitutional values is everyone’s responsibility. You need to fight for what you love. I love my country deeply and I feel very bad about the changes that are happening in our society, in our politics. You can never say what will happen tomorrow. I can only say that there is more to life than landing some advantageous film projects. This is true about my life so I need to stand by what I believe in.
What do you think of SriReddy speaking up about the casting couch in the Telugu film industry naming and shaming big ones?
I just feel everyone has their own experience. Everyone has their own journey and everyone has to choose their own ways of expressing themselves. Sometimes situations are so desperate that you need to take extreme steps, so I don’t want to comment on anyone’s personal choices.
Do you think the casting couch needs to be tackled on a war footing?
I don’t know how the South industry works. But, my experience in Mumbai is that there is a lot of sexual harassment at the workplace but there are also good people doing good work. I know how a struggler’s career can be about the slower route and maybe the longer route. The longer route that I took was very boring. I started doing small roles and then landed the bigger ones. There must be people who are misusing their privilege, but there are lots of people who are doing good work and casting on the basis of talent.
