Swara Bhasker has never shied away from speaking her mind, even when her views have landed her in controversy. The actor has once again found herself at the centre of a social media debate after recalling her reaction to the Supreme Court’s 2019 Ayodhya verdict. Speaking on The Midnight Hour podcast, Swara said she was deeply upset by the judgment and felt “really ashamed” as a Hindu, prompting her to reach out to Muslim friends in her phonebook, including Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan.

Swara Bhasker recalls her reaction to Ayodhya verdict

Recalling the events after the November 9, 2019 verdict, Swara Bhasker said she felt the judgment was unfair and wanted to personally reach out to Muslim people she knew.

She said, “I was so upset when that verdict came out. I felt it was very unfair. I messaged all the Muslims in my phone book- from Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman sir to Fahad. I was like, I want to reach out to all the Muslims I know – as a Hindu, I just want you to know that I’m really sorry, I am really ashamed, and I don’t agree with this.”

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Swara Bhasker also recalled that not everyone she messaged felt the need for such an apology.

“Of course, some of the people were like, ‘It’s okay, you don’t have to message like this,’” she said, describing the responses she received.

The Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution Bench unanimously awarded the disputed site in Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple. The court also directed the government to allot five acres of alternative land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for a mosque.

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Netizens react

Swara Bhasker’s comments have since drawn reactions on social media, with several users criticising her response to the judgment.

One X user wrote, “Swara Bhasker was upset over the Ram Mandir verdict. Sometimes I genuinely feel bad for her; she spends day and night praising Bollywood, hoping to get work, but somehow the work never comes.”

Another user wrote, “SWARA felt sorry for the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict. We feel sorry for Swara. She saw a court order. We saw Ram.”

Swara Bhasker reveals Umar Khalid played cupid in her love story

During the same podcast, Swara Bhasker also spoke about her relationship with husband Fahad Ahmad and revealed that former JNU student leader and research scholar Umar Khalid played a role in bringing them together.

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Fahad recalled that Khalid, who was his close friend, gave him Swara’s number and encouraged him to call her for an anti-CAA protest in Mumbai. Swara also credited Khalid for connecting them, saying, “Khalid was our cupid. He was the person who connected us.”

Umar Khalid was arrested by Delhi Police on September 13, 2020, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.

Fahad said he followed his friend’s advice and called Swara. He joked that even after three years of marriage, getting her to answer his calls could still be difficult, although she picked up his call within a few rings that time.

Swara explained that she generally does not answer calls from unknown numbers. However, she made an exception at the time because she was actively involved in the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act and was responding to people associated with the protests.

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The couple first met during the protest held at August Kranti Maidan. Their first selfie together was also taken at one of the rallies.

Swara and Fahad registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act on February 16, 2023, in the presence of family members and close friends. They welcomed their daughter, Raabiyaa, in September 2023.

Swara’s Padmaavat controversy

The latest controversy comes shortly after Swara Bhasker once again found herself in the spotlight over her comments on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. In 2018, she wrote an open letter to the filmmaker questioning the depiction of jauhar in the film, arguing that women should not be defined by their sexuality or sexual “honour”.

Swara recently revisited the reasons behind her letter at an event in Delhi. She said the film’s depiction of jauhar made her think about the message it could send to survivors of sexual violence.

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Her remarks again triggered criticism online, with some users accusing her of insulting the women who performed jauhar.

Swara subsequently clarified that she had never called Rani Padmaavati or the women who performed jauhar “cowards”, saying her comments had been mistranslated.