After Jewish group, Israel's ambassador criticizes 'Bawaal'
Nitesh Tiwari's latest directorial venture Bawaal has been in the midst of controversy over its Auschwitz scene. The film has been facing major backlash and has also gained negative traction on the international front, with Jewish calling the scene "insensitive." After the Jewish human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), the Israeli ambassador and embassy put out strong words against the Bollywood film.
Why does this story matter?
Starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, Bawaal is being criticized for a particular scene where a Holocaust survivor reportedly says that every relationship has its own Auschwitz (the place of Nazi concentration center where countless Jews were killed). Kapoor's dialogue about every human having a Hilter inside, referring to greed, also drew flak. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on July 21.
Here's what Israel's ambassador, embassy said
The Israeli embassy issued a statement on Friday, saying that it is "disturbed by the trivialization of the significance of the Holocaust in the recent movie Bawaal." Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon also criticized the film in a tweet that read, "I did not and will not watch the film Bawaal but from what I've read, there was a poor choice of terminology and symbolism."
Read the full statement here
SWC on the Holocaust 'Bawaal'
Earlier, the Jewish global human rights organization SWC called out Bawaal makers. SWC Associate Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said, "Auschwitz is not a metaphor. It is the quintessential example of man's capacity for evil." He further said that "Nitesh Tiwari trivializes and demeans the memory of 6 million murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler's genocidal regime."
Tiwari, Dhawan defended film
After the controversy broke out, Tiwari and Dhawan jumped in to defend Bawaal. "You start looking at a film with a magnifying glass, you'll find problems with every piece of work created," said Tiwari. Dhawan, on the other hand, took a dig at Oppenheimer's controversial Bhagavad Gita scene, saying that there is selective criticism when it comes to English and Hindi films.
