Veere Di Wedding starring Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shikha Talsania is sure breaking some stereotypes. The movie’s fresh controversy was when a masturbation scene featuring Swara surfaced online. Social media users have been critical it and the actress has been heavily trolled for this on Facebook and Twitter. One of the scenes in the movie features Swara Bhasker’s character, Sakshi, masturbating. Some Twitter users, wasted no time in shaming the actor for doing such a scene.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Swara Bhaskar calls out the hypocrisy when it comes to standards for men and women. “Our society is very hypocritical when it comes to standards for men and women. The men can do anything on screen, but for women, it is bold, shocking and many more things.” Though,many voices dissected the movie, calling it a shallow but “trolling a woman for a part she played in a movie is equally shallow,” says Sandhya Kumar, who watched the movie with her friends. International singer Soumita Saha, who in past had raised her voice against objectification and body shaming of women has openly come out in support of actress Swara Bhaskar.

She says, “If we can accept on-screen sex, why do we object on-screen masturbation? We remain unperturbed by the on-screen portrayal of heinous crimes like Rape and Murder, but the hell breaks loose when a woman chooses to masturbate.” There are several health benefits of Masturbation. It helps in reducing chances of prostate cancer. It is also beneficial during pregnancy as it is a safe way to release sexual tension.” In continuation, Sandhya argues, “It is time that we accept the change and it gets reflected in our movies. For how long are we going to see women dancing around trees and acting desirable than being real. This is real for many women in urban India. Why do we have to be apologetic? This isn’t feminism, neither is it empowerment. We don’t have to accept the tag the makers are giving to sell their product. But It is just real.”

Soumita explains, “Swara’s character is probably the first time we have seen a female character pleasuring herself. There have been innumerable instances of male actors masturbating on-screen. Swara has broken the stereotype that women do not masturbate. She has liberated the souls of crores of women in this country, who are often subjected to guilt if they opt for self-pleasure.”

She continues, “I think all of us know that masturbation is as true as sex. Those who are shaming the brilliant actress for this act are probably unaware of the reality. Such people harbor wrong perception that masturbation is only for men and not for women. This needs to change.”