Swara Bhasker on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death: ‘Your dislike for Karan Johar doesn’t mean he is a murderer’
Swara Bhasker recently opened up about the ongoing boycott Bollywood trend on social media.
Days after she spoke about Akshay Kumar, and said that celebrities were a soft target of criticism, Swara has now spoken about Karan Johar. She said the filmmaker was attacked by a section of people after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020. Swara said criticising Karan for his films or for promoting ‘nepotism’ in film industry was one thing, but calling him a ‘murderer’ after Sushant died was unfair.
In a recent interview, Swara said there was an ‘atmosphere of fear’ in Bollywood. She said hate campaigns against recent movies like the Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha played a part in some highly-anticipated, big budget films not working at the box office. She added that the film industry was ‘under attack’ and that the ongoing boycott Bollywood trend, whereby a section of social media users are calling for the boycott of films and celebs, was paid for.
Swara Bhasker told Connect FM Canada in Hindi, “There’s an atmosphere of fear. In the industry… there is this idea of not engaging in controversy. There is a genuine belief in the industry that if there’s a controversy happening, it’s best not to bother or comment on it.”
The actor took the example of Karan and other Bollywood celebs, who were targeted after actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai home, after his alleged suicide. Swara said that even when celebs like Karan are attacked, they do not say anything due to fear of backlash.
Swara said, “Aapko Karan Johar ki filmein ghatia lag sakti hain, uske nepotism se dikkat ho sakti hai. Lekin aapki dikkat aur aapki dislike ka matlab ye nahin hai ki vo kaatil hai (You can say a lot of things about Karan Johar, you can say his films are obnoxious or that you have issues with him for promoting nepotism in the industry, but your dislike and issue with him doesn’t mean that he is a murderer).”
Swara was last seen in Jahaan Chaar Yaar alongside Pooja Chopra, Meher Vij and Shikha Talsania. The film released on September 16. The actor had recently said that she has a difference of opinion with Akshay Kumar due to his support of certain films. Swara had told The Hindu, “We are storytellers and should tell stories in an honest way. I think Bollywood should not make itself a platform for propaganda. Having said that, Bollywood is not one tangible, homogenous entity and there could never be one voice coming 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 supports but that doesn’t mean I want his films to flop or that he shouldn’t release his films.”