Oppenheimer, directed by acclaimed director Christopher Nolan, sparked outrage in India’s Hindu community with a sex scene in which the protagonist utters a well-known line from Hindu scriptures. In accordance with CNN Internationalsome people belonging to the community are demanding the removal of the sex scene and are calling for a boycott of the film.
Oppenheimer tells the story of the atomic bomb from the perspective of creator Robert Oppenheimer. In the scene in question, Oppenheimer, played by actor Cillian Murphy, is having sex with his lover Jean Tetlock, a character played by Florence Pugh. Tatlock interrupts sexual intercourse and gives a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s most sacred books, to Oppenheimer to read.
“Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” says the protagonist of the film, continuing his sexual intercourse.
A Hindu Nationalist Party of India politician called the film a “disturbing attack on Hinduism” and accused it of being “part of a larger conspiracy of anti-Hindu forces”.
India’s Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar said on Saturday that the scene was “a direct attack on the religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus”, comparing it to a “war against the Hindu community”.
The film was well received by the vast majority of critics in India, who gave it rave reviews and encouraged people to go to the cinemas.