Sex scene in film “Oppenheimer” becomes latest target of India’s Hindu nationalists
Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster film, “Oppenheimer,” sparked controversy among the Hindu right in India, with some calling for a boycott and demanding the removal of a sex scene in which the main character utters a famous phrase from the religion’s holy scriptures.
The film tells the story of the atomic bomb through the lens of its creator, Robert Oppenheimer, and the scene in question shows actor Cillian Murphy, who plays the title role, having sex with Florence Pugh, who plays his lover Jean Tatlock.
Pugh stops during intercourse and picks up a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s most sacred scriptures, and asks Murphy to read it.
“Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” says Oppenheimer’s character, as they resume intercourse.
The scene has caused outrage among some right-wing groups, with a politician from India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calling the film a “disturbing attack on Hinduism” and accusing it of being “part of a larger conspiracy of anti-Hindu forces.”
In a statement released Saturday, India’s Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar said the scene was “a direct attack on the religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus,” likening it to “waging a war against the Hindu community.”
He added: “We believe that if you remove this scene and do what is necessary to win the hearts of Hindus, it will go a long way in establishing your credentials as a sensitized human being and bring you the friendship of billions of nice people.”
The film has been well received in most parts of India, which conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, with rave reviews and people flocking to theaters to see it.
“Oppenheimer” grossed more than US$3 million in its first weekend in the country, according to local reports, more than filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s much-anticipated “Barbie,” which opened the same day and grossed just over US$1 million.
The Indian film board gave “Oppenheimer” a U/A rating, which is reserved for films that contain moderate adult themes and can be viewed by children under 12 with parental guidance. So far, there are no bans on the film in any of the country’s states and union territories.
“A change of tone.”
This is not the first time the Hindu right has taken offense at movies, TV shows or commercials for their portrayal of Hinduism. Some have been boycotted or even kicked off the air following protests from conservative and radical groups.
In 2020, Netflix received significant backlash in India for a scene in the series “A Suitable Boy” that showed a Hindu woman and a Muslim man kissing in a Hindu temple. That same year, Indian jewelry brand Tanishq pulled an ad featuring an interfaith couple following online criticism.
Meanwhile, film analysts and critics say there has been a shift in the tone of some Indian films, with nationalist and Islamophobic narratives gaining support from many within India, as well as the BJP.
Last year, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s blockbuster “The Kashmir Files,” based on the mass exodus of Hindus from Kashmir fleeing violent Islamic militants in the 1990s, polarized India, with some praising the film as “heartbreaking” and “truthful,” while others criticized it as Islamophobic and inaccurate.
Similarly, this year’s release of “The Kerala Story,” about a Hindu girl who is lured to join ISIS, angered critics who called it a propaganda film demonizing Muslims.
Before the release of “Oppenheimer,” Murphy said he read the Bhagvad Gita to prepare.
“I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring,” he told Indian film critic Sucharita Tyagi in an interview. “I think it was a comfort to him [Oppenheimer], he needed it and it brought him a lot of comfort, his whole life.”
Oppenheimer, known as the “father” of the atomic bomb, was drawn to Hinduism and its teachings. A polyglot and scholar, he taught himself several languages, including Sanskrit.
Speaking to interviewers two decades after the Trinity bomb test, the world’s first nuclear explosion, on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer said, “We know the world would not be the same. Some people laughed, some cried, most were silent.”
He said he remembered a line from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now, I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
That line is used in the film several times, including during the sex scene.