Boycott Oppenheimer trends in India; Cillian Murphy, Christopher Nolan slammed

The war drama Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan has received a grand opening worldwide. In India too it was welcomed with open arms on its release on July 21. But now this Hollywood flick has come under the scanner of Indian social media users who are very much upset about the way Bhagavad Gita is mentioned during a sex scene.

It is a specific scene in the movie that features Cillian Murphy that shows the Peaky Blinders actor indulging in sex while simultaneously reading the sacred Hindu text Bhagavad Gita. Netizens have slammed this particular scene calling it an insult to Hinduism. In this movie, Murphy is playing the lead character of Robert Oppenheimer.

During an intimate scene with Florence Pugh aka Jean Tatlock, he quotes one verse from the sacred Hindu text which has triggered an outrage among the Hindus in India and even around the world. That is why they are demanding that Oppenheimer should be boycotted in India.

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.

— Indian-Americans (@HinduAmericans) July 20, 2023

Hindu social media users across the world have slammed both Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan for such a depiction and are demanding that the scene must be removed from the movie immediately. Incidentally, Oppenheimer has received approval from the Indian film censor board, and hence legally its screening cannot be stopped.

But the demand for removal for this scene is very high and it can force the filmmakers to make the expected changes if they want the film to continue its run in India. According to users, even though the censor board has chopped a few abusive words that are a part of this movie shown in other parts of the world, it still retained this scene which is not acceptable.

One netizen even said that you cannot trust Hollywood or even the West to depict anything related to Hinduism accurately and positively.

Censor board has chopped the abusive words in Oppenheimer movie but it has allowed the scene where the main lead actor is having sex while reading "Bhagavad Gita"

BJP's Censor board has no problem with blasphemy of Hinduism, remember they allowed such nonsense in Adipurush too. pic.twitter.com/5dFWSRhX63

— A! (@LiberalHinduA) July 21, 2023

For the unversed, the movie is based on the life of J Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb. He was also a great admirer of the Bhagavad Gita and quoted the verse, “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” in the Hindu text after he tested the atomic bomb successfully.