Indian officials and right-wing Hindu groups have expressed outrage over Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film “Oppenheimer,” accusing it of waging a war on Hinduism. The Hollywood blockbuster tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb. In one scene, Oppenheimer’s lover asks him to read from the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text. The quote, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds,” holds significance as it is believed to have been recited by Oppenheimer when the first atomic bomb was detonated.
The film’s release in India received positive reviews and performed well at the box office. However, certain Hindu groups and officials from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took issue with the scene, considering it an assault on the religious beliefs of Hindus. They called for the scene to be cut, with hashtags like #BoycottOppenheimer and #RespectHinduCulture trending on Twitter.
Religious intolerance has been a growing concern in India, and critics argue that it has intensified since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist government came to power in 2014. While Hindus are the majority, there are significant minority communities, including Muslims, in the country.
This is not the first time a film has faced controversy over religious themes in India. In the past, productions like Amazon Prime’s “Tandav” and the BBC/Netflix adaptation of “A Suitable Boy” have also faced criticism and calls for censorship due to perceived insults to Hinduism.
As the situation unfolds, the debate over artistic expression versus religious sensitivities continues in India.
Source: Telegraph
