Oppenheimer Hindu scripture scene sparks outrage in India

In the film, the protagonist, played by Cillian Murphy, reads from the holy Bhagavad Gita

Cillian Murphy plays the titular J Robert Oppenheimer in the film written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan. All Photos: Universal Pictures

Matt Damon plays Leslie Groves in Oppenheimer

Damon, left, and Murphy in the film

Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock and Murphy

Robert Downey Jr plays Lewis Strauss

Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence

Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer

From left, Murphy, Olli Haaskivi as Edward Condon, Damon and Dane DeHaan as Kenneth Nichols

DeHaan in the film

Jason Clarke as Roger Robb

Robert Downey Jr, left, as Lewis Strauss and Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush

A scene featuring holy Hindu scripture in nuclear arms biopic Oppenheimer has sparked a backlash on social media in India, with many users saying they would boycott the film because of what one nationalist group called a "scathing attack on Hinduism".

The protagonist recites a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, the holiest of Hindu scripture, just before a romantic scene.

The scene shows Oppenheimer with his lover Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh, in which she opens a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and asks him to read from it.

Murphy reads the line, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds", the quote which Oppenheimer reportedly recalled when the first nuclear bomb was detonated.

The film, which was released in India on Friday to much fanfare, was rated U/A by the country's Central Board of Film Certification, which recommends parental guidance for viewers aged under 12.

"This should be investigated ... on an urgent basis and those involved should be severely punished," the nationalist Save Culture Save India Foundation said. Comments by the organisation's founder, government official Uday Mahurkar, condemning the film, were also retweeted more than 3,600 times.

Universal Pictures India, the local unit of the film's producers, did not respond to a request for comment. Officials from the film certification board did not respond to a request for comment.

The movie, directed by Christopher Nolan, stars Cillian Murphy as US physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, who oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb during the Second World War.

It has grossed about 600 million rupees ($7.33 million) since Friday, Warner Bros Discovery, which released the film in India, said on Monday.

Indian cinemas, which, like their global peers, are struggling to attract viewers away from online streaming services, are banking on Oppenheimer and Barbie to boost earnings, especially after a string of Bollywood flops kept audiences away.