New Delhi CNN –
Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster film Oppenheimer has sparked controversy among India’s Hindu right. Some called for a boycott and for the removal of a sex scene in which the title character utters a famous line from the religion’s scriptures.
The film tells the story of the atomic bomb through the lens of its creator, Robert Oppenheimer, and the relevant scene features actor Cillian Murphy, who plays the lead role, having sex with Florence Pugh, who plays his lover Jean Tatlock.
Pugh pauses during the intercourse, picks up a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s most sacred scriptures, and asks Murphy to read from it.
“Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds,” Oppenheimer’s character says as they resume intercourse.
The scene has caused outrage among some right-wing groups. A politician from India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the film a “disturbing attack on Hinduism” and accused it of being “part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces”.
in one opinion On Saturday, India’s Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar said the scene was “a direct attack on the religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus” and likened it to “a war against the Hindu community”.
He added: “We believe that if you remove this scene and do what is necessary to win the hearts of Hindus, it will go a long way in establishing your qualifications as a sensitized human being and bestowing on you the friendship of billions of nice people.”
The film was well received in most circles in India, where the first nuclear test was conducted in 1974, with critical acclaim and people flocking to theaters to see it.
According to local reports, “Oppenheimer” grossed more than $3 million in its opening weekend in the country, more than filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s much-anticipated “Barbie,” which opened in theaters on the same day and grossed just over $1 million.
The Indian Film Authority has given “Oppenheimer” a U/A rating, reserved for films that contain moderately adult themes and can be viewed by children under 12 with parental guidance. So far, the film has not been banned in any of the country’s states and union territories.
This is not the first time the Hindu right has taken offense at a film, TV show or commercial for its portrayal of Hinduism. Some have been boycotted or even ousted from the show due to outcry from conservative and radical groups.
In 2020, Netflix (NFLX) received significant backlash in India for a scene in the series A Suitable Boy in which a Hindu woman and a Muslim man kiss in a Hindu temple. That same year, Indian jewelery brand Tanishq withdrew an ad featuring an interfaith couple in response to online criticism.
Meanwhile, analysts and film critics say the tone of some Indian films has changed, with nationalist and anti-Islamic narratives being supported by many in India and also by the BJP.
Last year, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s box office hit The Kashmir Files, based on the mass exodus of Kashmiri Hindus fleeing violent Islamist militants in the 1990s, polarized India. Some praised the film as “harrowing” and “truthful,” while others criticized it as Islamophobic and inaccurate.
Also this year’s release of The Kerala Story, about a Hindu girl who is tricked into joining ISIS, angered critics who called it a propaganda film that demonized Muslims.
Prior to the publication of Oppenheimer, Murphy said he read the Bhagvad Gita in preparation.
“I found it absolutely beautiful lyrics, very inspiring,” he told Indian film critic Sucharita Tyagi in an interview. “I think it was a consolation for him [Oppenheimer]he kind of needed it and it has given him great comfort throughout his life.”
Considered the “father” of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer was attracted to Hinduism and its teachings. A polyglot and polymath, he taught himself several languages, including Sanskrit.
Two decades after the Trinity test bomb, the world’s first atomic explosion, on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer told interviewers, “We know the world would never be the same. A few people laughed, a few cried, most were silent.”
He said he remembered a line from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I have become Death, the destroyer of the worlds.”
This line is used multiple times in the film, including during the sex scene.