Bhasker feels mental health needs to be the focus of discussions as depression is a serious issue. “One shouldn’t trivialise it by saying, people get depressed because they weren’t invited for a party or because someone gave a stupid answer about their on a chat show. If that is your understanding, then you don’t know what depression is,” she states.
While she has made her mark in films with films like Nil Batte Sannata (2016), Anaarkali of Aarah (2017), Veere Di Wedding (2018) among others, Bhasker has also been vocal about a number of political issues. Ask her if her political ideologies and stand affects her career and vice-versa. She says, “If you are a woman, and a woman in a public sphere, you will be trolled for some or the other reason. I can’t control what is offered to me. Of course, in every actor’s career, there are movies that didn’t turn out or perform as expected. I might not have got my due in the industry but I am grateful that people respect my voice and that I have an identity and credibility as a person. After ten years in the industry, I could have done more work, yet I feel proud of my body of work.”
Bhasker is thrilled that her recent web show, Rasbhari, has got a positive response, “along with some trolling too”. She says, “Most people get that the show is not about sex but looking at a deeper issue, which is adolescent sexuality in a repressed society, and of the fear that our society has of female sexuality. That’s why it tries to vilify that. All the risque roles that I have done - be it Anaarkali of Aarah (2017), Veere Di Wedding (2018)- we have discussed a larger picture. It shows the reality of society. Like in Rasbhari, my character, Shanoo, a teacher is teaching the adolescent student that women are humans first. In the first few episodes, the boys look at her as a sexual object but once he gets to know her, he sees her a person, and doesn’t objectify her. She teaches him about respect, honesty and consent.”