Tamannaah interview: 'Rape' row flares up 10 years after Baahubali release

In a recent interview, Bhatia reacted to an article published in 2015, titled 'The Rape of Avanthika', which was a critique of a scene involving her in SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning.

Violation of consent

Bhatia had played the fierce warrior Avanthika, who eventually gives in to Baahubali's (Prabhas) relentless pursuit of her as he slyly draws designs on her body.

When she's asleep, a stranger (Prabhas) approaches and delicately paints a flower onto her wrist. When they eventually come face to face, he seizes her, initiating a provocative, forceful dance full of sexual innuendoes. He unfastens her hair without consent, removes her utilitarian battle attire, and with practiced ease, reshapes her clothing into something more 'feminine'.

They break into a romantic song, Paccha bottesina, and she transforms from brave warrior to coy lover.

The journalist, Anna M Vetticad, described it as a “symbolic and romanticised representation of the violation of a woman’s consent in sexual relations”.

Matter of 'control'

In her recent interview, Bhatia appeared to criticise the intentions behind the article, claiming that when people can’t control you, “they use shame and guilt as a technique to make you feel that you must feel ashamed of whatever you do”. She went on to hit out at the writer of the article, saying "when they make you feel shame, they can gain control over you".

“If you show someone the purest thing, but if that person thinks sex is a bad thing or your body is a bad thing or your entire system is a bad thing, then that’s all they will see,” Bhatia said. After that, she spoke at length about sexual repression in society.

Also Watch: Women get a raw deal in Bollywood; study reveals shocking numbers

Vetticad hit back at the actor for perceiving the criticism of the scene as an attack on her. 'The Rape of Avanthika' was about Baahubali the film, not about Bhatia the individual, she said in a Facebook post.

Not only did Bhatia attribute her article to "sexual repression" but also attacked her with a personal remark, said Vetticad.

According to Vetticad, many readers wrote to her saying her article resonated with them and were happy that they were not alone in feeling a sense of “discomfort” with that particular courtship scene in Baahubali. Simultaneously, she had also faced a spate of communal and misogynistic online attacks, in addition to vulgar, sexually explicit abuse, she added.

'Inexplicable, absurd'

However, in the writer's view, she found that Bhatia’s latest interview is the "most inexplicable and absurd response" to the article she had received in these 10 years.

Vetticad had intended the article to slam the romanticisation of sexual violence in the film but somehow Bhatia interpreted that concern as an “aversion to sex”. "It was a “symbolic prettified representation of rape”, emphasised Vetticad, adding that Bhatia has somehow interpreted that as her attempt to control her.

Internalised misogyny

Also, Vetticad went on to stress that the issue here is the "deep-seated internalised misogyny that prompted Bhatia to defend a portrayal of stalking, harassment and violence as courtship, and the normalisation of sexual violence in a film”.

Also read: 'Baahubali' re-release: Both parts to hit theatres in combined format on Oct 31

Women in India suffer acid attacks, rape and have even been killed by men who are socially conditioned to ignore or avenge rejection, she wrote in her Facebook post.

"That scene in Baahubali showed a woman initially enraged at the repeated violation of her bodily integrity by a man, but eventually making love to him. It is dangerous because it echoes what our society tells boys and men: that when a woman says no, she means maybe or yes; that true love or genuine attraction means persisting even after she rejects your advances; and that it is up to a man to “make her realise” (to quote an oft-used phrase) how beautiful she is," she wrote.

Power to influence

Vetticad said: "A celebrity with the power to positively influence minds if she wishes to do so, publicly made false allegations about 'The Rape of Avanthika', and intentionally conflated sexual violence with sex to confuse the audience at an interview". By doing this, Bhatia was backing the patriarchal status quo that causes great harm to women, and ultimately harms men too, she added.

"This is not about Bhatia either: she is a mere instrument, a mouthpiece, for an oppressive system that seeks to subjugate women and non-conformist men; a system that some women, sadly, play along with in the interests of career advancement," said Vetticad.