Swara Bhasker: I think we have a very stereotypical representation of the LGBTQ+ community in cinema – Times of India

Swara Bhasker is on cloud nine and deservedly so. She has been receiving praise for her performance in Faraz Ansari’s ‘Sheer Qorma’ and is also upbeat about her upcoming short film, ‘Dobara Alvida’ with Gulshan Devaiah. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, Swara opened up about being part of both the films, LGBTQ+ representation in world cinema, tackling trolls on social media, and more. Excerpts…

‘Sheer Qorma’ is going to have its World Premiere at Frameline…
Not only at Frameline, ‘Sheer Qorma’ is being premiered at almost 400 international film festivals. I am obviously very excited. It is a very special film. It has been made with a lot of love and conviction. I am really honoured to be a part of it.

Did you anticipate that the film would receive such appreciation?
I did not anticipate it but when I was doing the film I knew that it was a very important film. Although I have not seen Faraz Ansari’s work, I saw his passion and somehow I trusted it. I am glad that his craft matched his passion. The performances in the film are outstanding. You want stories coming out of all kinds of people and being told by members of the community. At the same time, the subject line of the film is very universal because we all know what it is to be misunderstood by one’s parents. That experience is something we all have had at some point in our lives. That is what is unique about this film–it is very specific at the same time it is universal.

Were you skeptical of playing a queer character when you were first approached for the film?
I was not at all skeptical. I have never played the role of a lesbian before and at first, I wondered as to how should I prepare for the character and if I needed to interview someone to know how they feel. But then I realised that she is just a woman who is in love. She is just like any one of us. There was nothing to be researched about them. I know the feeling of being in love. I just played the character as honestly as possible. It was pretty relatable.

I was glad that Divya Dutta, Shabana Azmi ji and all the other people were in the roles that they were in. There was a lot to feed off each other. It was amazing to be in the same frame as them!

Do you think the queer community is aptly represented in contemporary cinema?
I think we have a very stereotypical representation of the LGBTQ+ community in cinema. Interestingly, this is the case across industries. Hollywood, too, has not had a very great history in this matter. I have always believed that narratives will change when people from those backgrounds get behind the camera. This also holds true for women. We see women characters written differently when there is a woman behind the camera. You can see the difference in a film like say, ‘Fire’ and some other film made on lesbianism by men. You can see differences in female representations in films made by Ashwini Iyer, Gauri Shinde, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and many others. The same is for films made on the LGBTQ+ community, for castes, for North East India and the Kashmiris. I think that is the way to make narratives more diverse.

Tell us about your upcoming short film, ‘Dobara Alvida’…
It is a sweet film. It is relatable because we all have been in a situation where we have said goodbye to someone only to find a pull, or a plug, or an emotion. The story is very cute. It is about two lovers meeting in a shared cab. It is unusual yet very possible. It will leave you with bittersweet feelings.

How would you describe Gulshan Devaiah as a co-star?
Gulshan is a great actor. He is very sincere. He was super punctual and I was just the opposite. I used to start my day with an apology to him for running late. I even messaged him one day to not leave his house for shooting till I was ready to leave too. He still always used to come before time. Gulshan is very sweet and his sincerity is his winning quality. I was glad that he was someone that I could easily get along with. We used to be in the car for about 14 hours a day because it had been shot inside a car. Writer-director Shashank is a very dear friend of mine. So that process was also quite fun for me.

How difficult is it to tackle trolls every day?
It really depends on how the day is for me. If I am having a good day, I really don’t care. If I am down, I give it back to them. Some days you deal with them in a better way, some days you just cannot. But I have learned to deal with them. I think I have developed a thick skin towards them. I always try to use humour and wit because I am aware that I am not the only person who is facing this. I know a lot of people are facing this, especially women. Men too, but more women. I feel we should all draw strength from each other. I want people to look at me and say we can deal with this too, you know. And it is not their fault that they are being trolled. The shame shouldn’t lie on us. We are the victims here. We are not doing anything wrong by speaking our minds.