Hyderabad: Christopher Nolan directed biographical drama Oppenheimer sparked outrage among viewers over a scene where the leading man, portrayed by Cillian Murphy engages in sexual activity while reciting verses from the Bhagavad Gita, a revered Hindu text. While social media is ablaze with claims of Nolan's film 'hurting Hindu sentiments,' actor Nitish Bharadwaj, who played Lord Krishna in TV show Mahabharat, is the latest to weigh in on the debate.
Recently, in an interview, Nitish Bharadwaj defended the controversial scene from Christopher Nolan's film. He stated that Oppenheimer was going through a dilemma over the creation of an atomic bomb that was used to destroy the majority of Japan's population. He said, "His famous interview showed him in tears, which means that he probably regretted his own invention. He probably saw that his invention would destroy the human race in the future and he was probably remorseful."
Nitish continued by saying that the usage of this verse in the movie should also be understood in light of Oppenheimer's emotional state of mind. "A scientist thinks of his creation 24x7x365 days, irrespective of what he is doing. His mind space is consumed fully by his creation and the physical act is just a natural mechanical act," he said.
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He said, "I appeal to people to think of this emotional aspect of Oppenheimer's important moments in life. Isn't he proved correct that now we see all the explosive technologies killing our own race - for human greed of territorial and commercial superiority, without any sense of larger duty as an individual or a nation or a planet? The situation today is the same as in Kurukshetra, which is why the Brahmins and Kshatriyas consciously did not propagate the Veda of warfare - Dhanurveda. The UN must enforce nuclear disarmament seriously. Nolan's message is loud and clear."
For the unversed, Oppenheimer is inspired by the 2005 biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, written by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin. The movie also features Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Dane DeHaan, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Matthew Modine, Casey Affleck, Alden Ehrenreich, and Jason Clarke.
