As the fourth phase of voting commenced in India on 29 April, so did a new round of trolling as many targeted Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker for the controversial Veere Di Wedding masturbation scene.
On Monday, images of people holding placards with Swara Bhasker’s name on them began to circulate on the internet. Here’s the message carried by the placards: “This election don’t be like Swara Bhasker. Use your fingers wisely. Vote Wisely.”
Swara Bhasker, who is known for her bold and outspoken personality, took to Twitter to slam these trolls. She shared photos on her own Twitter page and wrote:
Awwwwwww!!!!! My trolls are hard at work again, sweating it out in the heat to popularise my name.. You guys are SO dedicated & sweet!!! Don’t mind the slut-shaming guys.. their imagination is a bit limited.. but loving the effort you two”
The placard messages are a direct dig at a popular scene from the Bollywood film Veere di Wedding in which Swara’s character was caught masturbating by her husband. The scene took the internet by storm and was both criticised and applauded by those who watched the movie.
Many netizens then expressed support for Swara Bhasker by slaming the trolls alongside her. Some even shed light on the taboo of female sexuality.
Swara Bhasker has always been one of the few outspoken celebrities in the industry who doesn’t shy away from sharing her political views on social media. Recently, the actor flew to Patna on 9 April, ahead of the first phase of general elections, to lend support to CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar by campaigning for him in Bihar’s Begusarai district. She later took to Instagram to share images from her visit.
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