Mahabharata Actor Nitish Bharadwaj Defends Oppenheimer's Bhagavad Gita Scene

Nitish Bharadwaj who played Lord Krishna in 'Mahabharata' defends the recent backlash over Oppenheimer’s Bhagavad Gita scene.

Actor Nitish Bharadwaj explained the intended meaning of a particular phrase from the Bhagavad Gita.

Source : IMDb

New Delhi: ‘Oppenheimer’, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy, caused a stir when it included a scene in which Murphy's character engaged in sexual activity while quoting the Bhagavad Gita, a holy Hindu text. On social media, followers had mixed reactions to the scenario. Now, Mahabharata actor Nitish Bharadwaj who played Lord Krishna in the drama has spoken out against the recent backlash over Oppenheimer’s Bhagavad Gita scene.

Actor Nitish Bharadwaj, who portrayed Lord Krishna, explained the intended meaning of a particular phrase from the Bhagavad Gita. The actor tells a media outlet that the battlefield of life is where we face our greatest emotional challenges. 

In the movie, Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is seen being intimate with Jean Tatler (Florence Pugh) as she asks him to recite a line from a book in Sanskrit. Oppenheimer reads the line she refers to: "Now, I am become Death, destroyer of the world."

Nitish Bharadwaj defended the scene in Christopher Nolan's film in an interview with E-Times. He said, “When Oppenheimer created the atom bomb and it was used to kill most of Japan’s population, he was himself questioning whether he did his duty properly. His famous interview showed him in tears, which means that he had probably regretted his own invention. He probably saw that his invention would destroy the human race in the future and he was probably remorseful."

He added, "The use of this verse in the film should also be understood from 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."

For the unversed, Robert Oppenheimer has personal ties to the Bhagavad Gita. Oppenheimer, referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb," studied Sanskrit and was profoundly impacted by the ancient Indian text.