Amidst outrage over a scene from actor Cillian Murphy starrer Oppenheimer, wherein he is seen reciting Bhagavad Gita’s shloks while having sex, Uday Mahurkar of Save Culture Save India Foundation (SCSIF) on Saturday, July 22, issued a statement urging the Information and Broadcast Ministry to take action in this regard. He said that the film has hurt the Hindu religious sentiments. The Christopher Nolan directorial venture had a theatrical release on July 21, 2023.
“It has come to the notice of Save Culture Save India Foundation that the movie Oppenheimer, which was released on 21st July, contains scenes which make a scathing attack on Hinduism. A scene in the movie shows a woman making a man read Bhagwad Geeta aloud while getting over him and doing sexual intercourse,” the statement tweeted by Uday Mahurkar read.
Moreover, the statement issued by Save Culture Save India Foundation expressed shock over how even the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) approved the scene without any cuts or alterations.
“A divine gift to human civilisation by Bhagwan Sri Krishna, the Bhagwad Geeta, is one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism. Geeta has been the inspiration for countless sanyasis, brahmacharis and legends who live a life of self-control and perform selfless noble deeds. One is perplexed as to how the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) could approve the movie with this scene,” the statement reads.
The Save Culture Save India Foundation further urged Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting to investigate and take action in this regard.
“We are living in a very polarised world. So this should be investigated by the I & B Ministry on an urgent basis and those involved should be severely punished. As observed by Union I & B Minister Anurag Thakur ji recently and even courts in the last couple of years, the entertainment we get is insensitive to the cultural and moral sentiments of masses,” the statement adds.
The SCSIF further asserted that people are compelled to remain “powerless recipients” of continuous attacks on their core values, while content creators get free rein to spend millions creating and promoting unacceptable, even filthy content in the name of creativity.
The statement concludes with SCSIF urging Union Minister Anurag Thakur to do everything to uphold the dignity of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and make necessary alterations in the processes involving content moderation so that such things are not repeated again.
“The Foundation urges, on behalf of the public of this nation and the timeless tradition of lives being transformed by revered Geeta, the I & B Ministry to do all that is needed to uphold the dignity of the revered holy book of the Hindus, punish those involved and setting processes in place that such things do not happen in future,” SCSIF stated.
Oppenheimer and the Bhagavad Gita
It is notable that American scientist J Robert Oppenheimer recited the Bhagavad Gita Shlok after seeing the explosion of the atomic bomb. “Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” Oppenheimer had said.
The original shlok quoted from the Bhagavad Gita chapter 11 is told by Lord Krishna to prince Arjuna:
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः।
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वेयेऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः॥॥ (11.32)
The shlok means, “I am mighty Time, the source of destruction that comes forth to annihilate the worlds. Even without your participation, the warriors arrayed in the opposing army shall cease to exist.”
While J Robert Oppenheimer’s interest towards Hindu Scriptures like Bhagvad Gita, Meghdut, and to some extent even Vedas is well known along with his fascination for Sanskrit, however, the veracity of the controversial scene depicting Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) reciting Gita Shlok while having sexual intercourse with Jean Tatlock (played by actress Florence Pugh) remains doubtful.