Protested, Oppenheimer's Film Intimate Scene Allegedly Harassing Hindu Religion

Florence Pugh - Cillian Murphy (Universal Pictures)

JAKARTA - Christopher Nolan's latest film, Oppenheimer is suspected of harassing Hinduism. In the midst of the hectic news because this film is in the box office, many parties have started voicing their criticism of the film.

Oppenheimer tells the story of Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) from his career to his personal life. In this film, Oppenheimer has a special relationship with Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.

The allegation of harassing religion was based on a scene when Oppenheimer and Tatlock were having sex. Then the moment was stopped when Tatlock took one of Bhagava Gita's books, and asked Oppenheimer to read one part.

"Now I am becoming Death, the destroyer of worlds," or Now I'm becoming death, destroying the world, said Oppenheimer and they continued to have sex.

Launching India Today, film audiences and some Indian officials felt the scene was a "disturbing attack" against Hinduism. Uday Mahurkar, one of India's information commissioners, called the scene a kind of direct attack on Hindu beliefs and invited war. Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu holy book that is respected by believers.

"We don't know the motivation and logic behind the useless scenes in a scientist's life. But this is an attack on people who have Hindu beliefs, and is almost part of an anti-Hit Hindu conspiracy," Uday said on Sunday, July 23.

"We believe that if you delete this scene and want to win the hearts of Hindus, it will take a long time to build trust in you as a human being and make friends with billions of good people," he said.

In the letter, Uday Mahurkar explained that Bhagavad Gita is one of the Hindu scriptures that is respected and inspired.

"We represent Hindu billions and the traditions that Gita has respected to do what is necessary to uphold the dignity of the books they respect and remove this scene from your films around the world," Uday said.

In a separate interview, Christopher Nolan explained that intimate scenes in Oppenheimer are needed for his character to be emotional. According to Nolan, Pugh's Jean Tatlock fits the need for character portion, including for intimate scenes.

I met (Florence Pugh) and felt connected creatively. I think he can revive Jean Tatlock and make viewers understand how important this character is in Oppenheimer's life," Nolan told Insider.

"(The intimate scene) is very important to explain their relationship and see what makes them embarrassed, but to be intimate, try to be there and understand important relationships," he said again.