Indian officials have denounced Christopher Nolan’s latest film “Oppenheimer” as a “scathing attack on Hinduism” for a sex scene between Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh.
In a lengthy tweet shared Saturday, journalist and government-appointed information commissioner Uday Mahurkar slammed Nolan and the scene for its use of the Bhagavad Gita, which he called “one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism.”
“We do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on life of a scientist,” wrote Mahurkar, who also founded the Save Culture Save India (SCSI) Foundation.
“But this is a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus, rather it amounts to waging a war on the Hindu community and almost appears to be part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces.”
The Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse scripture that dates back thousands of years and is considered a sacred text in Hinduism.
During the sex scene in question, Pugh’s character, Jean Tatlock, stops intercourse to pull the Bhagavad Gita from a bookshelf before instructing Murphy’s character, J. Robert Oppenheimer, to read from the literature.
“I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” the actor reads as the sex resumes.
Mahurkar’s letter went on to claim that Hollywood has been reluctant to include Islamic scripture and the Quran in films so as not to “offend the value system of a common Muslim.”
“Why should not the same courtesy be also extended to Hindus?” he asked.
He then urged Nolan — “on behalf of billion Hindus” — to remove the controversial sex scene from “Oppenheimer” to “uphold [the] dignity” of the Bhagavad Gita.
“Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian [civilization],” Mahurkar added.
Nolan has yet to publicly address the backlash.
Pvnew reached out to the director’s lawyer but did not immediately receive a response.
The controversy comes after the R-Rated historical drama hit theaters Friday, drawing fans to the movie’s premiere in India as early as 3 a.m., according to PvNew.
The film, which follows Oppenheimer as he oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II, has grossed $174.2 million globally since its release.
Murphy, 47, recently addressed his sex scenes with Pugh, 27, in the film, calling them “f—king powerful.”
“Those scenes were written deliberately,” Murphy told the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday.
“He [Nolan] knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got. And I think when you see it, it’s so f—ing powerful.”
He added, “And they’re not gratuitous. They’re perfect. And Florence is just amazing.”
