New Delhi: The film ‘Oppenheimer’ was released to cinemas on July 21, 2023, and has been mired in controversy ever since. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, lashed out at the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Monday for refusing to cut the controversial sequence from the Christopher Nolan film. This continuing controversy about 'Oppenheimer' and the Bhagavad Gita has prompted a strong reaction from Indian filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma.
For the unversed, Cillian Murphy reads some verses from the Bhagavad Gita during an intimate scene in ‘Oppenheimer’. Some online discussion has also been sparked by the scene.
Ram Gopal Varma couldn't hold back his praise for ‘Oppenheimer’ and applauded the movie and its director.
On Monday, the filmmaker took to Twitter and wrote, “Irony is that an American nuclear scientist Oppenheimer read the Bhagwad Geeta which I doubt even 0.0000001 % of Indians read.”
Several Twitter users responded angrily to Verma's comments.
The review of the film on ABP Live reads: Each small detail enhances the thrill of watching the movie in that dark room, from the mirage to the applaudatory foot stamping after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the much anticipated moment, the re-enactment of the first nuclear bomb explosion, which boasts of being carried out without any kind of CGI effects, is worth the wait because it compels you to hold your breath until you hear the gushing roar of the bomb going off. Almost every scene comes with an intensely engrossing edit, all of which is backed by a seamless score. The three-hour running duration leaves you with very little downtime; instead, each dialogue and each shot seem to be worth savouring. Take your time absorbing it, as Nolan probably would have wanted you to.
The biographical epic is inspired by the book 'American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer'. In 2006, the Pulitzer Prize was given to the biography written by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.