Bhagavad Gita reference in ‘Oppenheimer’ sex scene sparks outrage: 'Direct assault on religious beliefs’

Christopher Nolan-directorial 'Oppenheimer' is in the middle of a controversy over a reference to the Bhagavad Gita, the holy scripture of Hindus, during an intimate scene. In this scene, Oppenheimer appears to have sex as he reads out verses from the holy Hindu scripture. The scene features Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh, who play J Robert Oppenheimer and Jean Tatlock respectively.  

Social media users have been irked by the particular scene and sought its removal from the latest Cillian Murphy film. Government of India Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar wrote an open letter to Nolan and termed the scene as a “disturbing attack on Hinduism” and appealed to the filmmaker to remove the scene globally.  

Mahurkar said the movie shows a woman making a man read the Gita aloud while getting over him and getting intimate with him. He also questioned how could the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) approve the movie with such a scene.

"We urge, on behalf of billion Hindus and the timeless tradition of lives being transformed by revered Geeta, to do all that is needed to uphold dignity of their revered book and remove this scene from your film across the world. Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian civilisation. Eagerly await needful action (sic)" Mahurkar, who is also the founder of the Save Culture Save India Foundation (SCSIF), wrote.

Twitter users were also quick to share their take on the same. A user said they are calling for a boycott of Oppenheimer due to this scene.  

The user said on Twitter: “I’m calling for a boycott of the movie Oppenheimer. I just learned there is a highly offensive scene involving the Bhagavad Gita in it. I will not repeat it here, but it involves something explicit. Never trust Hollywood and West to depict Hinduism positively and accurately”.  

Another user said: “OPPENHEIMER has mocked Hinduism like never and all pseudo Hindus who cried hell on Adipurush are silent. Christopher Nolan shud be booked for treating Gita like that, such an insult to Hindus across the globe”.  

Here are some other reactions to the contentious scene in Oppenheimer:

But did J Robert Oppenheimer have any connection with the Gita? Oppenheimer, regarded as the father of the atomic bomb, learnt Sanskrit and was said to be influenced by the Bhagavad Gita. The physicist quoted a verse from the Bhagavad Gita in an interview while describing the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945.  

The verse he quotes is: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. The original verse is told by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. The shlok means: “I am mighty Time, the source of destruction that comes forth to annihilate the worlds. Even without your participation, the warriors arrayed in the opposing army shall cease to exist”.  

Meanwhile, popular writer Devdutt Pattnaik told The Indian Express in an exclusive conversation that he found Oppenheimer’s translation of the quote wrong.  

Pattnaik said: “I did some research on Oppenheimer, and I had never come across this line. I had never heard this line. Someone said it was chapter 11, verse 32, which really says ‘kaal-asmi’, which means ‘I am time, destroyer of the world’. So, his translation itself is wrong. It is not ‘I am death’. It is time, time is the destroyer of the world”.  

Oppenheimer opened to positive reviews in India on July 21 and has crossed the Rs 30 crore mark in India within just two days of its release. Backed by Universal Pictures, the project also features Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Kenneth Branagh, Casey Affleck, and Rami Malek in pivotal roles.  

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