Riya Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; May 20, 2019)

She is a familiar face in Bollywood, but that’s not the reason why she’s been in the spotlight lately. Swara Bhasker is on a journey of getting socio-politically educated, and has spent the last month lending her star power to multiple political rallies by Lok Sabha candidates. We recently met the actress at her residence in JNU. “I am so tired after campaigning. I can’t wait to go back to Bollywood now,” said Swara, who has campaigned for six candidates from different political parties. From losing four brand campaigns because of her political ideologies to why she doesn’t want to leave Bollywood for politics yet, Swara talks about her political awakening. Excerpts:

You are a mainstream actress, who has been actively campaigning and for multiple candidates and parties. How did your family, friends from JNU and the industry react to your political awakening?
My friends in the industry are poking fun at me, saying, ‘Oh, you have become a neta’. But they are not surprised. In fact, they think this is my natural habitat. Huma (Qureshi) is very convinced that this is where I should be headed. Himanshu (Sharma), who joined me in Sikar, has advised me not to jump into anything and told me ‘Beta, ye sher ki sawari hai’! My friends from JNU are picking holes in my arguments (laughs!). They think that I am being too much of a ‘strategist’. My dad is pretty chilled out but my mom keeps asking me if I am sure about heading down this path.

But is this something that you want to do full-time in future?
It is very tiring. Campaigning is still a glamorous part of it. The real grit and grime is the daily work of dealing with what is happening in your constituency. I don’t know if I am in that zone. I know for sure that if I decide to do this, then I can’t do films. I can’t be a politician who only shows up at the constituency around elections. I like acting and I am also producing a film. I campaigned because in these elections, the stakes are high, after the things that have happened in our country. Whether it is mob violence, killings over beef, or just the general violence that has seeped into our lives and vocabulary. But Pragya Thakur really got me. I was like, ‘If this is it then we should really be involved’. Initially, I was campaigning for Kanhaiya Kumar because I thought he should be in the Parliament, but when the Pragya incident happened, I wanted to go places where I could speak to people. As a citizen, I also want to have a better idea of how elections are conducted. It has been a huge learning experience for me, but I am eagerly waiting to get back to Bollywood now.

How do you think your campaigning helps a candidate? How did the audience react to a fresh face?
I knew that people were calling me because I am a heroine. As soon as I learnt that I would be campaigning, I went and bought 20 saris and got my wardrobe sorted. Maine blouse silva liye, jewellery leli and curated my look. I used to blow dry my hair in morning, put on my hair extensions and make-up, and wear my chunky earrings. I knew that the media would come for pictures and interviews, which in turn could be used as a platform to talk about issues that matter. For the public, it’s not a politician joh white kurta and jacket mein aa raha hai, they see a young person with colourful clothes. Even if they haven’t seen my films, they know that they’ve seen my face somewhere. It kind of helps jab aap naare laga rahe ho, people get excited to shake hands. In Bihar, it was a big connect because of Raanjhanaa and Jiya Ho Bihar Ke Lala (the phrase was a part of her speech in Begusarai). A lot of my films have done really well in Bihar. In Rajasthan also, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo did really well and people could place me. Bhopal campaign was also interesting. I did interactions with students and young entrepreneurs and went to mohallas. I am also viewing this as political, sociological education for myself.

We saw Bollywood getting political quite openly in these elections. Is this increased presence in politics a good thing for the political system or a bad thing for Bollywood?
It is always great if people are involved in our democracy. Bollywood has always had stars campaigning for their friends and parties. But this election season, two things have happened for the first time. No other government has used Bollywood like this government has and that has been a clever marketing strategy. It is not Bollywood getting political, it is the political establishment knowing how to use Bollywood very smartly. Whether it’s the interview with Akshay Kumar sir, or it is the selfies, or the film that got made.

The only difference I see in Bollywood is that earlier, actors never got publicly involved in tu-tu main-main about their political ideologies. Whether it is Anupam sir talking about Naseer sir or me commenting to a tweet on Anupam sir or talking about Paresh sir because he said something. Raveena Tandon ma’am is also very active, Richa (Chadha) is beautifully active. There are then some losers on the fringe of Bollywood who keep trolling me — that had never happened before. It is happening because our society is polarised and has a medium like social media to express that polarisation. Jaise hi country ka mauhal badlega, Bollywood will also settle down.

Like you said, the social media war and commenting on each other’s ideology has not been very elegant, do you think this will lead to a mature democracy or it will politicise the industry more than ever?
The industry is already politicised. You can see in terms of the appointments that are made, whether it is the FTII, the nature and composition of our censor board, or the way national awards are given. Every government puts its set of people in place. I don’t think Bollywood is relevant in the larger political discourse and scenario of our country.

But they have the power to influence voters…
Do we really though? I don’t think Bollywood influences voters who are on the fence, instead, it reaffirms the beliefs of people who are already on a particular side. Maybe, in the south it does. It definitely helps in perception building (of a candidate), so I think over time it does. Par maine suna hai ki 30-40,000 vote kisi actor ke aane se padh jaate hain. Someone told me that an actress was able to swing the votes by 30,000 in Bihar.

Do you think you can do this?
I think I can help the candidates make a stronger case for themselves. Instead of my star power, I can use my credibility because I am classified as a ‘thinking actor’— whatever that means. So, I can add credibility to the candidates. For example, someone like Amraram ji, got a lot more media attention because I campaigned for him (in Sikar), but I have no pretensions about swinging votes.

Were there any professional costs that you had to bear for actively taking part in politics at such an early point in your career?
I lost four brands after campaigning for Kanhaiya Kumar. They said they don’t want political people. I can understand because it’s election season and everyone is hyper. Brands don’t want to invest in someone who might attract anti comments. I am quite clearly for somebody and against somebody, or for a group and against a group. As far as a brand is concerned, everyone is in the market. You don’t want your audience to be divided. Also, I don’t see this as joining politics or leaving Bollywood. I am not taking a ticket and I don’t want a ticket. Even if someone offered me a ticket, I won’t take it.

Did someone offer you a ticket?
Well... no (laughs!). No comments on that. I don’t want a ticket. I am too young. I think I have at least 10-15 years to make that decision. But it would be nice to have some younger people in the Parliament.

A particular scene from Veere Di Wedding has also become political with many referencing to it while urging people to vote. What was your reaction to that?
I was surprised. I was like ek saal ho gaya film ko release hue. They thought that they were being clever, but it was just sexist. I was a little stung by the sexism. It was so crass, so tacky and what struck me was that they seemed like educated people. But, sexism unites everyone across political parties. Auraton ke mudde pe sab unite ho jaate hain gali dene ke liye. Whenever people troll me and it becomes something controversial, I always get this support from other social media groups. Mera bohot simple hai — you can disagree with me and you can hate me, but keep it civil. There is no point to this gaali-galoch.