Bollywood is indeed going through a rough patch, and the makers are not learning from their mistakes. In a recent controversy, the Jhanvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan starrer film ‘Bawaal’ has drawn criticism from the Israeli Embassy and Jewish Rights groups. They have alleged that the film trivializes the significance of the Holocaust. The film was exclusively released on the OTT platform Amazon Prime on July 21.
“There was a poor choice in the utilization of some terminology in the movie, and though we assume no malice was intended, we urge everyone who may not be fully aware of the horrors of the Holocaust to educate themselves about it, the Israeli Embassy tweeted.
The Israeli embassy is disturbed by the trivialization of the significance of the Holocaust in the recent movie 'Bawaal'.
There was a poor choice in the utilization of some terminology in the movie, and though we assume no malice was intended, we urge everyone who may not be…
— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) July 28, 2023
Meanwhile, a prominent Jewish rights group has also criticised the Bollywood film for using imagery and dialogues related to the Holocaust in bad taste. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said the film trivialises the “suffering and systematic murder of millions”. It also urged the platform to take down the film.
In a statement, it said, “By having the protagonist in this movie declare that ‘Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz’, Nitesh Tiwari, trivialises and demeans the memory of six million murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler’s genocidal regime.”
The film is directed by filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari and tells the story of a narcissistic history professor who is embarrassed by his wife’s epilepsy. They travel to Europe to visit prominent World War II sites, where their love for one another deepens. Scenes from the past and present are intertwined in the film.
In the trailer, Jahnvi Kapoor’s character, Nisha, says to her husband Ajay, played by Varun Dhawan, “We’re all a little bit like Hitler, aren’t we?” “We’re not happy with what we have. And we want what others have.”
In another scene in the film, she says: “Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz.”
Slamming the film and director Nitesh Tiwari, SWC’s Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said in an open letter, “Auschwitz is not a metaphor. It is the quintessential example of Man’s capacity for Evil. By having the protagonist in this movie declare that ‘Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz,’ Nitesh Tiwari, trivialises and demeans the memory of 6 million murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler’s genocidal regime.”
Further speaking about how the film trivialises the murder of millions during the Holocaust, he said, “If the filmmaker’s goal was to gain PR for their movie by reportedly filming a fantasy sequence at the Nazi death camp, he has succeeded. Amazon Prime (Prime Video) should stop monetising Bawaal by immediately removing this banal trivialisation of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust.”
