#NewsBytesExplainer: 'Bawaal' trailer controversy and Nitesh Tiwari's subsequent clarification
On Sunday, the team of the upcoming romance drama Bawaal unveiled the film's trailer at an event in Dubai. It was attended by director Nitesh Tiwari and actors Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan, among other team members. However, the trailer triggered mixed-to-negative responses, with several complaining that it "glorifies World War II" and Adolf Hitler. Subsequently, Tiwari offered an explanation to assuage the criticism.
Here's what the trailer focused on
The trailer focuses on the romance between History teacher Ajju (Dhawan) and Nisha (Kapoor), who fall in love and marry despite having nothing in common. After their marriage, they take a trip to Europe where they visit sites related to WWII. In one scene, Nisha says, "We all, too, are a little like Hitler, aren't we?" which has now become the point of controversy.
People aren't pleased with the 'cringe dialogues' and 'Hitler's glorification'
Audience targeted the trailer for "romanticizing the holocaust," "not providing proper context to the story," using "cringe dialogues," and, of course, for "comparing humankind to a mass murderer." A Twitter user wrote, "Why is India praising Hitler? What is the point?" while another complained, "Why shove so many cringy scenes? What is the need for unnecessary humor [while covering the holocaust]."
'The film is not just about Hitler'
The Dangal director cleared the doubts and said, "The arc of the characters, you know you look at the events and the incidents can play an important role in the overall arc of the character and the relationship." "It's not just about Hitler, there are many more things...every incident has been carefully chosen which can have an impact on the overall arc."
Tiwari further spoke about the theme of the drama
Shedding light on the backdrop of WWII, he added, "World War II is humongous, you know, there is so much which has happened. You cannot probably take everything. You have to pick and choose things that will probably impact the journey of the characters." Bawaal has skipped its theatrical outing and will release on Amazon Prime Video on July 21.
The drama also has 'personal stuff' from Tiwari's life
Tiwari further added how Bawaal draws from his own life experiences. He said, "This film is very special probably because there is a lot of personal stuff involved in it. This is the story that needs to be told. It is all about the way we look at life, the way we look at people. It is (about) coming-of-age and a layered piece emotionally."
