The government has asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to remove the controversial scenes from the recently released Christopher Nolan film 'Oppenheimer', based on the life of J Robert Oppenheimer, who is known as the father of the atomic bomb. A scene featuring Cillian Murphy in the titular role reading a line from the Bhagavad Gita while getting intimate with Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock has angered many in India leading to a backlash.
Taking serious note of it, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has sought an explanation from the Central Board of Film Certification and asked it to take corrective action.
Thakur is understood to have asked the CBFC to get the scene deleted from the movie. He has also asked the Board to fix accountability on persons responsible for clearing the movie with the scene in question.
Reacting to the same, novelist and columnist Shobhaa De took to Twitter and wrote, “#OppenheimerMovie left me speechless. Brilliant sounds hollow. Oh, about the controversy around the sex scene and the Bhagavad Gita... errrr....so many 5-Star hotels place The Gita and Bible in every room. Next to the bed, where countless couples copulate. Nobody objects @ianuragthakur.”
CBFC gave the film a U/A rating, making it suitable for viewers above 13 years, after studio Universal Pictures cut some scenes to reduce its length. In the US, the movie has been rated 'R- Restricted', which means viewers under 17 would require an accompanying parent or adult guardian. This is Nolan's first R-rated film.
During the film's promotional campaign, Murphy revealed he had read the Bhagavad Gita to prepare for Oppenheimer and thought "it was an absolutely beautiful text, very inspiring".
A Universal Pictures project, Oppenheimer also stars Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh. It was released worldwide on July 21.
