Where does your sensitivity go when you watch an English film?: Varun Dhawan lashes out

The team behind the romantic drama "Bawaal", including Varun Dhawan and director Nitesh Tiwari, has responded thoughtfully to the criticism that their film is 'insensitive'.

Since its release on Prime Video India last Friday, Nitesh Tiwari's romantic drama "Bawaal" has been the eye of the storm for its audiences. In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, director Nitesh Tiwari, along with actors Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, tackled the criticism surrounding the controversial parallel drawn between the lead characters' romance and events from World War II.

The lines that have caused contention in the film include a statement from a Holocaust survivor, "Every relationship goes through its Auschwitz," alluding to the infamous concentration camp where countless Jews suffered during Nazi Germany's reign. Another contentious line involves Janhvi's character, who claims that every human harbours a Hitler within due to their inherent greed.

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During the interview, Varun Dhawan candidly acknowledged that while he is learning to be more open to criticism, he initially found it challenging. When asked about the social media debate surrounding the Auschwitz scene, Varun expressed his confusion, saying, "Some people got trigged or sensitive about this. But I don't understand where that sensitivity or trigger goes when they watch, suppose, an English film."

"I'm saying, for example, they're allowed to do everything there, they're allowed to take leaps, and they're allowed to show things in a certain way. But you'll find that correct. I know people have got very triggered after watching a small scene in a  recently released brilliant film, It's a scene that's important to our culture and our country. But that's okay for you," he said, adding, "You don't feel they should be more sensitive to you? So where does your criticism go then?"

Varun seemingly referred to the controversial Bhagavad Geeta scene in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which was released on the same day as "Bawaal", in cinemas. The scene shows the titular character, J Robert Oppenheimer, invoking Bhagavad Geeta during an obscene. While many have objected to the scene, with I&B Minister Anurag Thakur reportedly pulling up the Central Board of Film Certification for the same, Varun seems to claim that the film hasn't been called out enough for its insensitivity towards Indian culture.

In the same interview, Nitesh Tiwari emphasised that every film could be subjected to scrutiny when viewed with a magnifying glass. 

"You start looking at a film with a magnifying glass, you'll find problems with every piece of work created. There's no piece of work without problems if you decide to watch it with a magnifying glass, which is not how a film should be watched," said the director.