Swara Bhasker: Judged my character despite being a feminist

Swara Bhasker reveals how her latest outing, It's Not That Simple 2, made her challenge gender bias

Much like her big screen outings where she challenges gender tropes, Swara Bhasker is pushing the envelope in her digital endeavours, too. The actor has reprised the role of Meera, a woman who lives life on her own terms in an otherwise male-dominated world, in the second season of It's Not That Simple on Voot.

"The makers did not expect the first season to be such a hit. The idea of another season stemmed from the show's success. We knew that it would do well in the metro cities, but the good response from B and C centres such as Kanpur, Benares and Indore came as a surprise," says Bhasker.

Though television has unfortunately long fallen prey to stereotyping women as adarsh bahus, web shows have explored them beyond the cardboard caricatures. In portraying the fiercely independent Meera, Bhasker says she faced inherent biases that she didn't know existed.

"When I read [the script of] the last season, I called Meera out as a sl**. I found that I was judging the character I was playing, despite being a feminist. It was a humbling moment for me. Why are we judgmental of women about things we never judge men on? We tend to ask new questions or find a new thought when we are in a place of discomfort. The first season did that by presenting an affair from a woman's perspective, and the second season takes off from there."

Bhasker will next be seen in two more digital offerings, Rasbhari and Flesh.

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