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Published 07:07 IST, July 26th 2023

Varun Dhawan takes veiled dig at Oppenheimer's Gita scene as he defends Bawaal dialogues

Varun Dhawan defended the Auschwitz reference in Bawaal and said his character Ajju Bhaiya is initially a tone-deaf character who gets to grow and learn.

Reported by: Anjali Negi
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Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan defended the Auschwitz reference in Bawaal and said his character Ajju Bhaiya is initially a tone-deaf character (Image: Instagram) | Image: self

Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Bawaal released on OTT on July 21. The film garnered attention for its unique storyline. It, however, also received flak for drawing parallels between genocide and marital problems. It featured a scene highlighting the Auschwitz gas chambers.

3 things you need to know

  • Bawaal is directed by Nitesh Tiwari. 
  • The film showed Varun Dhawan as a history teacher, who takes his wife to Europe on their honeymoon.
  • The film puts a spotlight on World War II crimes. 

Varun Dhawan defends Auschwitz reference in Bawaal

In a conversation with Pinkvilla, Varun was asked about the criticism Bawaal is receiving for comparing Auschwitz concentration camps and marriage. The actor said his character Ajju Bhaiya is initially a tone-deaf character but he gets to grow and learn with the help of his wife Nisha. He added that the comparison was needed to highlight the same.

Calling out the double standards of the Indian audience, the actor said, “Some people get triggered and sensitive about this but I don't understand where that sensitivity or the trigger goes when they watch an English film. They are allowed to do and show everything and you will find that in the correct way."

(Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor in Bawaal | Image: Instagram)

Varun Dhawan takes a dig at Oppenheimer

Without explicitly naming Christopher Nolan’s latest release Oppenheimer, Varun added that people watched a recently released film without any objection even though there was a scene that is very important to our culture and our country. Where was the criticism for that?

The October star concluded by requesting people to have the same yardstick to judge all films. The actor, of course, was talking about the sex scene in Oppenheimer featuring Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh.  A verse from the ancient Sanskrit scripture, Bhagavad Gita was used in the said sequence.

Bawaal is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala's banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment in collaboration with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Tiwari's Earthsky Pictures. The film premiered on Prime Video in India and across 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Updated 12:51 IST, July 26th 2023