Swara Bhasker has shared about facing sexual harassment on a film set in 2011.
Bhasker said the director made advances right in the early days of a long shoot.
The actress stated that she spoke about it to the producer, who supported her.
Swara Bhasker has opened up about a distressing episode from the formative years of her acting career, recalling how a director allegedly harassed her during an outdoor shoot in Madhya Pradesh.
The alleged incident occurred in 2011, while Bhasker was still scrambling through her early days in Bollywood. She also recounted how the film’s executive producer intervened to shield her on set, forging a bond that eventually evolved into a lasting professional partnership.
Talking to The Free Press Journal, Bhasker revisited the ordeal, which unfolded during a schedule in Pachmarhi. Fresh off her appearance in Tanu Weds Manu and in her early twenties at the time, she lacked a proper team or a sure footing or influential industry connections to turn to for backing. "I was vulnerable in a very different way. I didn't have a personal team, I didn't have people that I could reach out to," she said.
Swara Bhasker Opens Up On Tackling Harassment
"I didn't even know, I didn't identify it as sexual harassment at the workplace while it was happening because since the man had made no physical contact with me," the actor shared.
It was only years later, as the MeToo movement gained momentum, that Bhasker began viewing the episode through a different lens. Reading testimonies shared by other women brought a stark realisation that her own ordeal constituted workplace sexual harassment. "I was like, oh my God, this is harassment. It's like a textbook case of harassment," Swara said.
Bhasker also reflected on the impossible bind she faced on set. The film entailed a gruelling 56-day shoot, and the alleged misconduct began within the opening days. Yet, quitting the project felt unthinkable at a point when she was fighting to carve out a foothold in the industry. Highlighting the career risks that often silence women in toxic workplaces, she added, "I don't want to leave the project. I don't want to lose work. I mean, I also have my own ambitions, right? Which is fair. Like why shouldn't I?"
Certain not to walk away from the project despite feeling cornered, Bhasker confided in the executive producer and alerted him to the director's behaviour. Stepping up when it mattered crucially, he took care of her safety through the remainder of the demanding outdoor schedule. "He actually became my friend. He protected me. At that time and today he's my manager," she confessed.
Noting how workplace awareness and industry safeguards have shifted since 2011, Bhasker encouraged young women entering cinema to assert firm boundaries right from the start. "Speak to people, seek help, seek support and call things out immediately because now we can actually do it," she asserted.
