Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has already begun sparking controversy after premiering worldwide this weekend. The highly anticipated film has seemingly upset a certain community, and this comes after reports of an apparent ban on the film in Japan, which is because Oppenheimer’s work contributed to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, during World War II.
Though the apparent banning of Oppenheimer in Japan has been clarified to be a rumor, the Japanese distributor of the film, Toho-Towa, is yet to finalize its release plans for the film.
Oppenheimer’s opening weekend was followed by a controversy after another
Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, has sparked quite a controversy in India over a s*x scene that includes a reference to the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text. The scene in question occurs between J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy) and Jean Tatlock (played by Florence Pugh), two physicists involved in the Manhattan Project. In the scene, Tatlock stops in the middle of the act to get a copy of the Bhagavad Gita from the shelf and asks Oppenheimer to read from it.
Government officials in India have been some of the most vocal critics of the scene. Uday Mahurkar, an information commissioner for the Indian government, criticized the scene and urged Nolan to remove it from the film. Other government officials have echoed Mahurkar’s criticism. He further went on to say,
“You have great admiration in India for your art of filmmaking. We believe that if you remove this scene and do the needful to win hearts of Hindus, it will go a long way to establish your credentials as a sensitized human being and gift you friendship of billions of nice people.”
“We urge, on behalf of billion Hindus and 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 world.”
“Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian civilisation.”
The scene has been met with widespread criticism in India, with many people accusing Nolan of disrespecting the Bhagavad Gita. Some have even called for a boycott of the film.
Christopher Nolan’s thoughts on the scene
Nolan has previously spoken to the folks at People Magazine about the filming of the s*x scenes in the movie, saying,
“Any time you’re challenging yourself to work in areas you haven’t worked in before, you should be appropriately nervous and appropriately careful and planned and prepared.”
“When you look at Oppenheimer’s life and you look at his story, that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, it’s an essential part of his story.”
“It felt very important to understand their relationship and to really see inside it and understand what made it tick without being coy or allusive about it, but to try to be intimate, to try and be in there with him and fully understand the relationship that was so important to him.”
Cillian Murphy, the actor playing the titular character, has said that while preparing for the role, he went through the holy scripture himself as well. He said,
“It was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring”.
On the opening weekend in India, Oppenheimer grossed an estimated total of $6.09 million against Greta Gerwig’s Barbie’s estimated total of about $3.04 million in what turned out to be two of the biggest summer films globally.
The controversy over the s-x scene in Oppenheimer is likely to continue in India. It is a complex issue that raises questions about the relationship between art and religion. It is also a reminder of the power of films to provoke strong reactions.
Oppenheimer is now playing in theaters worldwide.
Source: Variety
