My Words Were Taken Out Of Context, I Was Joking: Swara Bhasker On Child Actor Controversy

Stardom is a funny thing. One minute, you can get all the love and adoration from the entire world, and the next, your words can be misinterpreted and you can get trolled brutally. Veere Di Wedding actor Swara Bhasker said that she was recently a victim of the latter. Last week, the actor found herself in a soup when a clip from her appearance on comedy show, Son Of Abhish, went viral–but not for the right reasons!

Swara was recalling one of the first few commercials she worked on, she spoke about working with a four-year-old child actor. Swara said the shoot was disappointing and admitted that she got angry when the child called her “aunty”. According to her, she didn’t swear at the child’s face but, thought it in her head. She also added that she believed all children are “basically evil”. 

This statement obviously did not go down well with netizens, who started trolling her for using such harsh language for a child. In fact, the hashtag #swara_aunty started trending soon.

However, Swara has defended her words, saying that her statement was taken out of context. “I was on a comedy show, narrating a funny incident about my first experience shooting in Mumbai. In that partly exaggerated and satirical narration, where I was using a comedic, adult and self-deprecating tone, I used certain swear words. The words were used to display in an adult-humorous tone, my exaggerated frustrations and emotions during my struggling days,” said Swara.

She said that she was only trying to give the incident a comic twist. “Comics do it all the time, and the show’s format is of a comedic genre. Most importantly, if you actually watch the show, you would realise that I actually was the one looking out for the child’s welfare — trying to make sure he gets a bathroom break, which other people on the set seemingly didn’t care about. I have never abused children nor any co-actor and I have always treated children with the care, affection and the responsible conduct they deserve. I actually like children. The quip that children are evil was obviously a joke,” she added.

When asked whether she thinks the entire incident was blown out of proportion, she said, “Of course it did! The whole controversy was clearly targeted and constructed. I’m not trying to justify swearing — those were undoubtedly an ill-advised choice of words, but they were not seriously used. It was said jokingly and self-deprecatingly. Comics do it all the time without anyone blinking an eyelid.”

Well, we’re glad that Swara clarified her statement and hope that the internet is a kinder place for everyone–celebrity or not!

Featured Image: Instagram

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