As Swara Bhaskar’s ‘Jahan Chaar Yaar’ releases this week, the actor discusses how the humble housewife she plays is very different from her real-life personality
As Swara Bhaskar’s ‘Jahan Chaar Yaar’ releases this week, the actor discusses how the humble housewife she plays is very different from her real-life personality
As someone who has turned her “dream into her” Jido (Tapa)”, Swara Bhaskar says that her convictions drive the roles she plays. “The actor I am is because of the person I am. If I were the person who gets scared easily and doesn’t talk, I wouldn’t have done this Nil batte silence, Aarahi’s anarkali either Veere Ki Wedding, My beliefs not only affect what I say publicly; They also influence my script choice. ,
The Delhi-based actress is playing the role of a humble housewife in the film. jahan chaar yari releasing this week , A fun take on the Bollywood staple of friends going on a road trip, Swara is excited to see the audience’s reaction to the film.
Actress Swara Bhaskar’s new film is releasing this week
what forced you to do jahan chaar yari,
Usually the friends who go on road trips are cool, urban, rich boys and girls. Here, the makers have put together a group of middle-class housewives, known as “Behenji”, in a coming-of-age tale of the more hip crowd. I loved it. I liked the way the movie re-appropriates the word Sister And flips it to say how cool, badass and sassy they can be.
Shivangi, the character I play, is a timid woman who cannot stand up for herself and is taken lightly by her family. I saw it as a challenge. Can I convince viewers to watch as a Twitter warrior that the person on screen is a meek character from a small town?
How did you hide the real Swara?
That’s its craft and fun. As an actor, I don’t judge my characters. Later nil batte silence And Aarahi’s AnarkaliShivangi is one character I felt emotionally attached to. It reminded me of my grandmother. Married at the age of 15, she used to tell me stories of life when a teenage bride was married to an English man from a landowning family. A woman who had not moved out of Varanasi suddenly had to travel to Bombay and deal with a group of people. She was a very devoted wife and mother.
When I read Shivangi’s role, I saw my grandmother and I incorporated everything I knew about her into the character. Most South Asian women have a special kind of devotion to their family and their whole life is swallowed up in marriage.
tell us about Mrs. Falani What you recently signed up for
Here I pick up where I left off Shivani – I play a protagonist in each story in this anthology of nine characters. Falani is derived from the colloquial word of Hindi Falani Dhikani. It is like Mrs. etc. The film follows the small, unfulfilled desires of women aged 35 and 45. The day I signed it, I started looking for theater workshops that I could attend to prepare for the role.
How do you see the call to boycott Bollywood movies?
It is an organized, sponsored, agenda driven noise on social media. This is not necessarily reflected in box office earnings. I feel brahmastraThe collection has surprised everyone.
Why is Bollywood being targeted?
A section is targeting Bollywood because it has always been a symbol of secularism and fraternity, celebrating India’s plurality and diversity. Those who have a problem with India’s secularism and pluralism have a problem with Bollywood.
But a section of the industry that remained silent or tried to push this agenda is also being targeted, right?
We are storytellers and we must tell stories honestly. I think Bollywood should not make itself a platform of propaganda. Having said that Bollywood is not a tangible, homogeneous entity and there can never be a single voice out of the industry. And that’s the beauty of it. I don’t agree with Akshay Kumar because of the kind of films he endorses, but that doesn’t mean I want his films to be flops or that he should not release his films.
In a democracy, people should be allowed to express their political views as long as they are within the constitutional framework. Many actors realize this when their films are boycotted. Earlier they used to think, Swara is the problem. We are legitimizing the culture of authoritarianism. No one is going to be safe from the culture of mob hysteria. It’s just that I am well ahead of the others in the queue.
You didn’t try to fit in, but you still got some really cool parts to play with…
This shows that Bollywood is not as bad as people think it is. I don’t have a mentor or godfather, I don’t have an actor or producer boyfriend and on top of that, I don’t have the body of a model. A lot of young girls come up to me and say that they think if I can be an actor, they can do it too. I find it amazing that women see themselves in me.
What’s next for you?
I have written two scripts. It is very difficult but I would like to produce them. There is a rom-com which is about two friends and not two lovers. The other is a flamboyant love story. And I must say that there is no politics in any of them!