This Friday, cinephiles were left in awe, as two of the biggest films were released this week. The first one is maverick Christopher Nolan's new directorial 'Oppenheimer' which explores the life and morally dubious achievements of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a physicist credited with developing the atomic bomb.
Oppenheimer was the director of Los Alamos Laboratory, where the bombs were actually put together, and one of the main contributors to the Manhattan Project, a government research project that ran from 1942 to 1946 and was focused on developing nuclear weapons.
Oppenheimer's soaring ticket price
And the second film Barbie, both the film has received well from the audience. Despite highly priced tickets approximately 2500 over the weekends, Nolan's Oppenheimer is running house full. Moviegoers who have watched the film have been spellbound by the performances and cinematic genius of maverick filmmaker Nolan. However, a particular scene in the film didn't go down well with the netizens.
Oppenheimer shows Cillian Murphy reading 'Bhagavad Gita' during sex scene
A sex scene of approximately six minutes in the film has grabbed the headlines, apart from the explicit scene, the film shows Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer reading the Bhagavad Gita while having sex which has irked Desis.
A section of netizens has also pointed out the same and questioned the CBFC for allowing the release of this film without cutting a scene that can hurt religious sentiments.
In India, the Censor Board Of Film Certification gave the film a U/A rating after the studio cut some shots of the sex scene to reduce its length. As per reports, the cuts were made by the studio themselves because they did not think the CBFC would allow the scene. The studio also decided to add a blurred patch on Pugh's bare back for the movie to be shown in India.
The only change the CBFC asked the filmmakers was to mute the word 'a*****e' and to also remove it from the subtitles, said the reports. But the board retained the shot where Jean Tatlock (played by Florence Pugh) makes Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) read from the Bhagavad Gita while having sex.
Take a look at how netzines reacted
A user mentioned, "Hindus have been celebrating the mention of the Bhagwad Gita in the Oppenheimer movie, but they are left angry and perplexed at the blatant disrespect of the Gita by Hollywood. Mentioning holy verses while having sex is considered disrespectful and racist. #BoycottOpenheimer."
Shame on India’s censor board for allowing this. Christopher Nolan is a typical Hollywood racist. He completely shut out all the Indian fighters in WWI movie and now he is making crude sexual references with Hinduism. Porno perverts from the West again exploit Hindu texts. https://t.co/qhiifzipNQ
— Indian-Americans (@HinduAmericans) July 20, 2023
Another mentioned, "Why was it necessary to do a scene with Florence Pugh holding Bhagavad Gita and Cillian reciting it while having sex???? Oppenheimer is a great movie overall but this part was extremely disappointing."
Why was it necessary to do a scene with Florence Pugh holding Bhagvad Gita and Cillian reciting it while having sex???? Oppenheimer is a great movie overall but this part was extremely disappointing.
— Lavanya (@dlostmannequin) July 21, 2023
The book 'American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer', formed the inspiration for the biographical epic. The biographical book penned by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin was awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize. The ensemble cast also features Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Dane DeHaan, and numerous others.
