In a U-turn from her critical tone of the BJP, Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar said she was fond of Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher and a second-time contender on a BJP ticket. This is in sharp contrast to the views she had expressed against another BJP candidate, Pragya Thakur, from Bhopal, earlier this week.

Swara said, “I like Kirron Kher a lot, she is such an amazing, dynamic, warm and fun person, personally I admire her a lot,” adding, “I have not followed local level politics in Punjab.”

“If somebody belongs to a party that we do not believe in doesn’t mean we have to personally attack them,” she said, adding that she was not a member of any political party, but believed in development issues and on democratic values.

She has lent her support to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate, Atishi, from East Delhi constituency. In these elections, she has campaigned for CPI (M) candidate Amra Ram in Sikar, Rajasthan; Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal and CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai, Bihar.

Speaking on the Kirron-Kejriwal-Panag controversy, “I must commend Gul Panag, who fought on an AAP ticket, for her communication to her ex-opponent. Gul has risen above petty politics and has stood up for what is correct and in solidarity with another woman.”

Gul had sprung to Kirron’s defence, after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had called her a ‘Mumbai actress’ at an election rally in Chandigarh.

On Gul’s absence from Chandigarh after the 2014 elections, Swara said, “This is a question that only she can answer but maybe she didn’t find politics to be her cup of tea,” adding, “You have to give freedom to people.”

When questioned on whether the 2019 elections had divided Bollywood into two halves, Swara said, “When was Bollywood united ?” adding that, “Bollywood has never seen people speaking against each other, or challenging each others’ political views on public forum; like Anupam sir saying something against Naseer sir, then Naseer sir saying something, or me saying something about it.”

She added, “Bollywood has always been involved in politics, but now some people have begun to question the fact that artists should speak their mind. There is a culture of Yes Prime Minister propagated everywhere in our country. That kind of culture has also come to Bollywood. So, people say that oh, how you can say something against the prime minister?”

“India has always been a noisy democracy; the problem isn’t that we have polarising views, but the fact that we are shocked by it. Fear has crept in about speaking against the government,” she concluded.

First Published: May 10, 2019 17:27 IST