A sex scene with a line from the Bhagvad Gita in nuclear arms biopic Oppenheimer has drawn ire in India, with netizens saying they would boycott the movie because of what one nationalist group called a “scathing attack on Hinduism”.
The scene features Cillian Murphy as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer reciting a verse from the Gita – considered the holiest of Hindu scriptures – just before he has sex with his lover Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.
Tatlock stops during intercourse and picks up a copy of the Gita and asks Oppenheimer to read from it.
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” Oppenheimer says, as they resume intercourse.
The scene has caused outrage among some right-wing groups, with a politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party calling the film a “disturbing attack on Hinduism” and accusing it of being “part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces”.
India’s Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar issued a statement saying the scene was “a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus”, likening it to “waging a war on the Hindu community”.
The film, which was released in India on Friday with much fanfare, was rated by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as U/A, which recommends parental guidance for viewers younger than 12.
“This should be investigated... on an urgent basis and those involved should be severely punished,” the nationalist Save Culture Save India Foundation said in a press release.
Prominent right-wing Hindu organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad said the movie was an attempt to “launch an attack” on Hindu society and demanded the scene be cut.
“The makers should apologise to the Hindu community all over the world, whose sentiments have been badly hurt,” spokesman Vinod Bansal told AFP.
Comments by Mr Mahurkar condemning the movie were retweeted more than 4,000 times.
“We believe that if you remove this scene and do the needful to win the hearts of Hindus, it will go a long way to establish your credentials as a sensitised human being and give you the friendship of billions of nice people,” he said.
According to the Hindustan Times, India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has demanded absolute accountability from the CBFC and directed the filmmakers to promptly remove the controversial scene.
He also warned that stringent action would be taken against all CBFC members involved in approving the screening of the movie.
Universal Pictures India, the local unit of the film’s producers, and CBFC officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The movie, directed by Christopher Nolan, stars Murphy as the United States physicist who oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Ahead of the film’s release, Murphy said he had read the Bhagvad Gita in preparation.
“I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring. I think it was a consolation to him (Oppenheimer), he kind of needed it, and it provided him a lot of consolation, all his life,” he told Indian film critic Sucharita Tyagi.
Oppenheimer was drawn to Hinduism and its teachings. A polyglot and polymath, he taught himself multiple languages including Sanskrit.
Speaking to interviewers two decades after the world’s first nuclear explosion took place on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer said: “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent.” He then recalled the line from Bhagavad Gita.
The line is used in the film multiple times, including during the sex scene.
Reuters
