Reasons for Backlash Against Swara Are Warped: Tillotama Shome

We need to have a sense of inclusion and an expansive sense of self that is not so gendered, she says.

Actor Tillotama Shome says people may not agree with Swara Bhasker's opinion on Padmaavat but their reasons for attacking the actor are "lame" and "warped".

The actor said like any individual Swara has the right to express herself.

“Swara has the right to express herself in what she felt in watching a film. It could be this film or any other one for that matter. It could be another woman or even a man who felt that the representation of a certain character was reductive.”

Tillotama Shome (As told to PTI on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort)

"The reasons for the backlash, that she's receiving for expressing herself, are lame. One can say that they didn't like what she wrote. But if they say she can't say things because she played an erotic dancer in a film (refering to Suchitra Krishnamoorthi's tweet), then it is warped," she added.

Swara had criticised director Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the "glorifying" the now-banned archaic jauhar practice in an open letter, for which she is receiving a lot of flak on the social media.

In her letter, Swara had said that she "felt being reduced to a vagina - only" after watching the period drama.

Shome said it was unfortunate that feminism has got "such a bad reputation".

“I would really like to be in a place that celebrates masculinity, femininity and androgyny with grace. We need to expand our boundaries where we are not talking about what is it to be a man or a woman. We need to have a sense of inclusion and an expansive sense of self that is not so gendered.”

Shome walked the ramp as a showstopper for Kolkata-based Shantanu of label Maku.

She delivered a powerful monologue about how people let life pass by in the hurry of running ahead - to present the 'In Transit' collection made from Khadi Jamdani with indigo dyes.

The LFW runs through February 4.