Oppenheimer makes a strong first impression, but the Bhagavad Gita’s use in the sex scene causes debate. Read it out to know the reaction.
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer hit screens yesterday with a very favourable response, but one of its scenes did not land well with the audience, especially with the Indian Audience. Indian fans are particularly angry due to the presence of the Bhagavad Gita in the sex scene.
Scenes featuring sex and the revered Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita have caused controversy for the eagerly awaited film. There have been protests and boycott requests in response to the inclusion of this scene, which has raised discussions about artistic expression, religious feelings, and cultural sensitivity.
In the film, there is a scene where Tatlock (Florence Pugh) requests Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) to recite a passage from the Bhagavad Gita in the midst of some personal moments.
Even before Oppenheimer’s release, criticism surrounded the film’s sexual content after receiving the first R rating for a Christopher Nolan movie in 20 years.
Oppenheimer is the first film by Christopher Nolan to include sex scenes. Though some have found those sex scenes offensive, the director of the film (Christopher Nolan) defended the scene and said it was important to have such scenes to accurately portray the character of Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and his passionate relationship with the character Jean Tatlock (played by Florence Pugh).
Oppenheimer has a strong interest in Sanskrit and is knowledgeable about ancient Hindu texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita’s profound philosophical teachings had a profound personal impact on Oppenheimer, therefore the significance of the storyline in the movie is grounded in genuine events.
A quote from Gita actually plays a big role in the life of Oppenheimer, as when the eponymous physicist sees the terrible power of the atomic bomb he helped create, he says, “Now I am Death, destroyer of the Worlds.”
This was also historically accurate, as in real life, Oppenheimer later said that it was this Gita quote that came to mind when he first saw the explosion of the Atomic Bomb.
Some viewers were also shocked to see that while the sex scene was obscured when Oppenheimer was released in India, the reference to the Bhagavad Gita remained despite the possibility that it would be construed as “blasphemy.”
Some are trolling the makers and the certificate Board, but some are defending the decision since the characters don’t regard the book as ‘holy’, and only as ‘Sanskrit’.
It sparks controversy when a user tweets about that explicit scene. The tweet read, “If Florence Pugh hadn’t ridden Oppenheimer in bed while forcing him to read from the Bhagavad Gita, it would have been a good family film!”
Over the course of the tweet, people started giving their reactions. One user wrote “People can point out our religion so easily, wrote the author. And because no one in our faith cares enough to take action, they will get away with it. The tweet’s assertions are true.”
Another user tweeted “How could Nolan insult Indians, who make up his most ardent fan base worldwide, in this manner? Nolan disdains Oppenheimer and is anti-Indian.”
Another individual said, “Just picture any other holy text in place of Gita, and you can understand the anger. What makes Hinduism a perceived “soft target”?
People also asked about how CBFC passed the film by giving a U/A Certificate with such an explicit scene and even with the Bhagavad Gita within.
Apart from the controversy, this film will surely give you a cinematic experience that is thrilling and thought-provoking at the same time. This film is more than a biopic about a real-life incident.
For those who don’t know, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is based on the book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which showcases the real-life incident of the Father of the Atomic Bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, during World War 2 and the history of making the Atomic Bomb.
