Swara Bhasker: I have been getting a lot of offers for socially-conscious films

Swara Bhasker, last seen on the big screen in Veere Di Wedding, is busy these days on the digital platform. The sequel of It’s Not That Simple, in which she plays a divorced single mother, released recently. The actress has also been roped in for a series on human trafficking, Flesh, in which she will essay a cop and  Rasbhari about a mysterious woman who comes to a small town. “Yes, I am doing some very interesting roles in the web space. In It’s Not That Simple, I played an unhappy housewife who has an extramarital affair. In the sequel, which picks up from two years after the first one ended, my character Meera is a single mother, who has separated from her husband. The show focusses on whether a woman can have it all — a family, a career and fulfilling life. The career is the main aspect and how does being a woman affect the dynamics at the workplace. It questions whether gender matters,” she explains.

A Relationship drama

The actress feels that amidst the pacy thrillers, slick action and plot-oriented series that are in vogue on the Indian digital space, something like It’s Not That Simple is different. “A mature and emotional relationship drama, it asks some hard questions. It shows that everyone is flawed and is struggling. It is real and takes time to explore relationships at the workplace and home space,” she elaborates. Besides this, Swara is also excited about her next web series, Flesh, because she will be donning a cop’s uniform for the first time. “I am learning Marathi for it, because as a Mumbai cop, I should know how to converse in the language,” she smiles and reveals that she has always been fond of Marathi Literature having studied the translated works of writers like Vijay Tendulkar and Namdev Dhasal. “So, this is a good opportunity to connect with it,” she avers.

‘I wanted to explore the digital medium’ 

With Bollywood A-listers like Saif Ali Khan and Abhishek Bachchan hopping onto the digital platform, it has suddenly become big. While Swara agrees with it, she points out that she was among the first film actors to do a web series. “Instead of being nervous and suspicious of a new medium, I embraced it with It’s Not That Simple. At that time two things appealed to me, the script and the fact that an affair was being shown in today’s context. Neither in films nor on TV have we seen an affair from the woman’s perspective. I wanted to explore the medium and this was perfect,” she reasons.

What lies ahead...

Ask her when the sequel to Veere Di Wedding is going on floors and she laughs, saying, “You’ll have to check with Rhea Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor.” In fact, the actress hasn’t signed any film yet. “I have been getting a lot of offers for socially-conscious and issue-based films but I have to be convinced about them before I take up the role. I am also being approached for comic roles. I am in talks for a few, but I can’t announce them till they are finalised,” she signs off.