Swara's cool daddy fields questions from millennials

Fans query him about things they are too embarrassed to ask their parents

Movie star Swara Bhaskar, famous for engaging with right-wing trolls and giving it back to them, did something unusual for Fathers’ Day. She hosted a web show featuring her father C Uday Bhaskar, asking him questions on behalf of fellow-millennials. Swara described him as ‘cyber dad’ and picked out questions from a fishbowl, allowing fans who had sent in the questions to keep their anonymity. The idea was to enable them to ask a wise elder questions they were too embarrassed to ask their own parents.

Uday Bhaskar, retired from the Indian Navy and now a defence analyst, fielded many questions with humour and panache. When a Swara fan confessed to a foot fetish, Uday Bhaskar recommended he take up the job of a shoe salesman or reflexologist. In any case, don’t reach for the calf, he advised, prompting a ‘thug life’ filter on his own face. Uday Bhaskar also gave advice on sex and love, drinking, and gay relationships. To catch all his urbane answers, go to SwaraOfficial on YouTube.

A young voice

Swara is the daughter of naval officer Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar, was born and raised in Delhi. She studied English literature at Delhi University, and sociology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her mother Ira Bhaskar teaches cinema studies at JNU.

Swara shot into the limelight in the romantic comedy Tanu Weds Manu (2011), and acted in its sequel as well. She is also noted for her performances in Raanjhaana and Guzaarish. In Veere Di Wedding, a masturbation scene featuring her won praise and criticism in equal measure. When she speaks out against the government, trolls invoke the scene to mock her, but she always hits back spiritedly. Her father Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar is director of the Society for Policy Studies, an independent think tank in Delhi. He became a columnist and defence analyst after he retired as commodore from the Indian Navy.