“Oppenheimer Attack On Hinduism”: Row Over Bhagavad Gita In Sex Scene

New Delhi:

The biopic of Robert Oppenheimer, the mind behind the world’s first atomic bomb, released on Friday. While the film has set the box office ringing, one scene in the Christopher Nolan epic hasn’t gone down well with some Indian movie-goers.

“One is perplexed as to how the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) could approve the movie with this scene,” said Uday Mahurkar, Information Officer with the government of India, sharing a press release by the ‘Save Culture Save India Foundation’.

The scene in question –  Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) reading the Bhagavad Gita while having sex.

“A scene in the movie shows a woman make a man read Bhagwad Geeta aloud while getting over him and doing sexual intercourse… This should be investigated by I & B Ministry on an urgent basis and those involved should be severely punished,” the press statement by ‘Save Culture Save India Foundation adds.

MOVIE OPPENHEIMER’S ATTACK ON BHAGWAD GEETA

Press Release of Save Culture Save India Foundation

Date: July 22, 2023

It has come to the notice of Save Culture Save India Foundation that the movie Oppenheimer which was released on 21st July contains scenes which make a scathing… pic.twitter.com/RmJI0q9pXi

— Uday Mahurkar (@UdayMahurkar) July 22, 2023

Oppenheimer is the first movie directed by Christopher Nolan to have an R-rating. But India’s censor board gave the film a U/A rating after the studio cut some shots of the sex scene to reduce its length. According to reports, the cuts were made by the studio themselves because they did not think the censor board would allow the scene.

The film opened to stellar reviews from film critics. In his review for NDTV, film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave the film 4.5 stars out of 5 and he wrote, “Oppenheimer, a cinematic achievement of blinding brilliance, achieves a sublime combination of visual grandeur, technical flair, emotional intimacy and an examination of the limits of human endeavour and ambition.”