Born on April 9, 1988, Swara Bhasker grew up in Delhi. Her father Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar is Telugu, while her mother Ira Bhaskar is Bihari. Swara's dad is an ex-Indian Navy officer, and her mother is a professor of cinema studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. (All photos/Swara's official Instagram account and AFP)
Swara did her schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and studied English literature at Delhi University's Miranda House. Swara did her masters in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Did you know actress Minissha Lamba was Swara's classmate, when the two studied at Miranda House, Delhi?
This is one of the rare pictures of Swara Bhasker doing a street play called 'Beech Ka Raastaa Nahi Hota' based on the poems of Punjabi poet Paash for her college theatre. Swara held dreams of shining bright in life and the result is what we all know! "When I was doing street theatre in Delhi, I never thought I would work in films or become a heroine. I didn't know anyone in Bollywood, had no contacts but the only thing I knew was whatever I want to do can happen only because of my talent. I realised, if you invest in your talent, you will shine in life and that's exactly what I did," said Swara.
Beauty and appearance play a crucial role in cinema and Swara Bhaskar had confessed that in the initial days of her career she was rejected for "looking intelligent".
"I think everyone who comes to the industry has to face a certain kind of rejection for how they look. Otherwise, people would not be spending so much money on their makeup. All this is a reflection of a person's mindset. The first meeting I had when I came to Bombay, a director rejected me saying, you look too intelligent. I have still not understood what does this mean," Swara said.
Swara was never afraid to take a risk. When she came to the film industry, since she had no idea of how to go about it, people gave Swara Bhasker a lot of advice on what not to do.
"I was told not to play any character of a sister or best friend of the protagonist as then people would only offer me a second lead. I was told not to play vamp and mother at a young age... Now you know what are the characters I have played in films. I thought if those are the rules to get the lead role, why not break them? Why not get rid of stereotypes to set my own rules?" Swara said in an interview.
Swara Bhasker made her acting debut with Madholal Keep Walking in 2009. The film was screened at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival, however, it failed to impress the audience at the Box Office.
Swara, later, appeared in Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer Guzaarish. She had a small role in the film, however, it went unnoticed.
In the same year, Bhasker appeared in Srinivas Sunderrajan's black and white thriller The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project. The film, which was touted as India's first mumblecore film, was also the first Indian film to be screened at the Transilvania International Film Festival.
However, things gradually changed for Swara Bhasker. Her role as Payal in Kangana Ranaut and R. Madhavan-starrer Tanu Weds Manu in 2011 was applauded by critics and audience, both. She even won her first award as the Best Supporting Actress for the film.
After Tanu Weds Manu, she appeared in films such as Chillar Party, Listen... Amaya, Aurangzeb. But it was with 2013's Raanjhanaa that gave a boost to Swara's career. He role as Bindiya in the Dhanush-Sonam Kapoor starrer, again garnered praise for her performance.
The effortless actor went on to be the lead in critically acclaimed films Nil Battey Sannata and Anarkali of Aarah where she essayed the role of a feisty mother and a professional dancing girl respectively. She even had a strong supporting role in Salman Khan's Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that 2018's Veere Di Wedding was Swara Bhasker's first glamourous role in her decade long career. And well, the audience loved the bold and beautiful Sakshi in the film.
While she showed promise in a slew of supporting roles, Swara still feels Raanjhanaa (2013) as the game-changer in her career. "Before Raanjhanaa released, I often asked myself, 'Should I drop it all and go back to Delhi?' But fortunately, good work and the opportunity to associate with good people kept coming my way."
It has been a significant journey for the actor, who — armed with a degree from JNU and the courage to play unconventional characters — headed to Bollywood 10 years ago. "I didn't know anyone here; had no contacts, no connections, apart from writer Anjum Rajabali, whose office I lived in," recalls Bhasker.
Swara has surely come a long way and we look forward to the actor wooing us with more great performances. As her latest web-show Flesh has been garnering praises for the content and the performance by the actors, here's wishing more success to her!
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