Even as Censor Board goes into a tizzy after I&B Minister Anurag Thakur seeks explanation on Oppenheimer's Bhagavad Gita-intimate scene, and netizens bay for Nolan's blood, the movie continues to draw

Sheetal

In the two Hollywood releases last Friday, a phenomenon hailed as ‘Barbenheimer’ (Barbie and Oppenheimer), Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer outperformed the other in India, as its collections crossed Rs 50 crore on Day 4.

However, Nolan including passages from the Bhagavad Gita in an explicit scene between Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Florence Pugh (Jean Tatlock) has not gone down well with a section of the audience. While many have objected to the scene, others are defending the acclaimed director. We trace the controversy.

The crux of it

The dialogue ‘I am become death, the destroyer of the world’, inspired by the Bhagavad Gita, has been used twice in the film and the first time after a love-making scene, where Florence brings the Bhagavad Gita and tells Oppenheimer to read it.

This has led to an outrage, especially from those who hold the Bhagavad Gita in high esteem. Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has sought an explanation from the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC), as to how such a scene was cleared. The minister, while replying to the open letter posted by Information Commissioner and author Uday Mahurkar on Twitter, wrote, “We do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on the 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.”

In his open letter, Mahurkar was ‘perplexed how CBFC could approve the movie with the controversial scene’. On the other hand, Thakur has asked for fixing accountability of person(s) responsible for clearing the film with U/A certificate, which means it is suitable for viewers above 13 years, whereas in the US the movie is rated ‘R’, meaning under 17 (it’s the first of Nolan’s films to be rated R).

However, it’s not that CBFC didn’t make amends to give a U/A certificate. Even Warner Bros had no problems with that. The studio happily draped a black dress over Florence’s naked body with the help of CGI technology to please CBFC. They also removed offensive words from the dialogues as well as subtitles, and introduced anti-smoking banners in between scenes.

All for creativity

On the other hand, there is a section of people who have praised Nolan for the masterpiece. Nitish Bharadwaj, who is hailed by the Indian audience for playing Lord Krishna in BR Chopra’s Mahabharata, while extending support to Nolan, urged everyone to understand it from the late scientist’s point of view. He had invented something which held the power to destroy the world, was regretting his action and yet it was his life’s work.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma wrote on Monday, “Irony is that an American nuclear scientist Oppenheimer read the Bhagavad Gita, which I doubt even 0.0000001 % of Indians read.” His comment got mixed reactions. While some affirmed his words, a user vehemently opposed it, “Oh, look at you making assumptions and underestimating the intellectual curiosity of an entire nation. You might want to check facts before making such bold claims.” Celebs like Sidharth Malhotra, without addressing the controversy, have simply stated that the film is a ‘masterpiece’.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer continues to mint money at the box-office despite the protests!