Oppenheimer sex scene featuring sacred Hindu text Bhagavad Gita sparks outrage in India
A sex scene in box office smash hit Oppenheimer has sparked outrage in India with social media users threatening to boycott the nuclear arms biopic.
The scene, featuring US physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (portrayed by Irish actor Cillian Murphy) reciting a verse from the Bhagavad Gita – a sacred Hindu scripture – before having sex has been branded a “scathing attack on Hinduism”.
Nationalist group Save Culture Save India (SCSI) Foundation said the scene should be “investigated… on an urgent basis” and called for those involved to be “severely punished”.
Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer was dubbed the ‘father’ of the atomic bomb. Pic: AP
Fury on social media erupted after SCSI founder, Uday Mahurkar, wrote an open letter complaining to the film’s director, Christopher Nolan.
The letter, entitled “Oppenheimer’s disturbing attack on Hinduism”, said: “We do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on [the] life of a scientist.
“But this is a direct assault on the 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.”
Mr Mahurkar described the Bhagavad Gita as “one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism” which has inspired thousands of people to “live a life of self control and perform selfless noble deeds”.
He called on Nolan to axe the controversial scene, telling him: “We urge, on behalf of billions of Hindus and timeless tradition of lives being transformed by revered Gita, to do all that is necessary to uphold dignity of their revered book and remove this scene from your film across [the] world.”
And he warned: “Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian civilisation.”
(left to right) Rami Malek, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Cillian Murphym Christopher Nolan and Robert Downey Jr attend the UK premiere of Oppenheimer
However, some people responded to the letter by suggesting the film was “just art”, with one person branding Mr Mahurkar’s claims “ridiculous”.
“These sorts of impotent accusations take away from the real issues happening to and within our community,” one said.
Another responded: “There is nothing morally wrong with the scene. Stop overreacting and treating sex as a taboo.”
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The film stars Murphy as Oppenheimer, who oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb during the Second World War.
It has grossed around 600m rupees (almost £5.71m) since opening in India on Friday, according to Warner Bros Discovery.
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‘Nuclear weapon threat never goes away’
In the UK, Vue said it had the biggest weekend for cinema ticket sales in four years following the release of Oppenheimer and the Barbie film.
The cinema chain said on Sunday that a fifth of its customers purchased tickets to see both films in a social media inspired double-bill dubbed “Barbenheimer”.
Ahead of Oppenheimer’s release, Nolan told Sky News the film was “just a very, very dramatic story about how our world changed forever” and warned – “the danger never goes away”.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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