Florence Pugh's nude scene in Oppenheimer censored with digital black dress in Middle East and India releases
25 July 2023, 15:46
Florence Pugh's topless scene in Oppenheimer has been digitally altered by having a CGI dress added over her in the film's release in the Middle East and India.
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The hit film includes a scene where Cillian Murphy's J Robert Oppenheimer gets intimate with Jean Tatlock, played by Pugh.
The digitally changed version of Christopher Nolan's movie shows her sat on a chair in a hotel room wearing a black dress, which covers much of her body, instead of the topless scene the rest of the world is shown.
Releases in Indonesia and Bangladesh have also included the censored scene, which has caused controversy.
The amount of sex in the biopic of the "father" of the atomic bomb has already attracted social media attention.
Read more: Film stars walk out on Oppenheimer premiere as largest Hollywood shutdown in 40 years launched
But it has brought controversy, too, and the editing appears to have smoothed the way to ensure as wide a release as possible.
In the UK, it received a 15 rating for sex and strong language.
The editing of Pugh's character is not the only controversy the sex scenes between her and Murphy have generated.
Some viewers in India were outraged after they saw a steamy encounter between Oppenheimer and Tatlock.
During the scene, Oppenheimer recites a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu script.
He says: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." It was claimed he thought of the quote when he saw the first atomic bomb detonation.
Read more: US Oppenheimer red carpet premiere cancelled after star-studded cast walks out in London
The founder of Save Culture Save India, a nationalist group, said there should be severe punishments for those behind the scene.
Uday Mahurkar complained "this is a direct assault on the religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus, rather it amounts to waging a war on the Hindu community and almost appears to be part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces".
He has called on Nolan to remove the scene, though other Hindus came out to criticise his stance and branded his response as an "overreaction".
