The much-awaited biopic Oppenheimer, based on the life of Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, helmed by the acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan set the cash registers ringing at the Indian box office. However, the inclusion of a recitation of the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita during a sex scene has sparked controversy among some netizens.
The film starring Cillian Murphy as the titular character comprises a scene where he reads out lines from the sacred text in an intimate scene with Florence Pugh’s Jean Tatlock. Specifying the scene, Uday Mahurkar, the information commissioner with the government of India and also the founder of the Save Culture Save India Foundation, shared a letter addressed to Nolan on his Twitter handle, ” We do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on life of a scientist. But this is a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus, rather it amounts to waging a war on the Hindu community and almost appears to be part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces,” an excerpt from the letter reads.
The letter further asked to remove the scene from the film, “You have great admiration in India for your art of filmmaking. We believe that if you remove this scene and do the needful to win hearts of Hindus, it will go a long way to establish your credentials as a sensitized human being and gift you friendship of billions of nice people. We urge, on behalf of billion Hindus and timeless tradition of lives being transformed by revered Geeta, to do all that is needed to uphold dignity of their revered book and remove this scene from your film across world.”
. @OppenheimerATOM
To,
Mr Christopher Nolan
Director , Oppenheimer filmDate : July 22, 2023
Reg: Film Oppenheimer’s disturbing attack on Hinduism
Dear Mr Christopher Nolan,
Namaste from Save Culture Save India Foundation.
It has come to our notice that the movie…
— Uday Mahurkar (@UdayMahurkar) July 22, 2023
Oppenheimer marks the first R- rated film in Nolan’s career. The film, which hit worldwide theatres on July 21, has crossed $3.6 million in its first two days of release in the Indian domestic box office. The film has also marked a critical success.
Apart from Cilian and Florence, the film boasts an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr, Gary Oldman, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh, among others.