How the Bhagvad Gita inspired Oppenheimer

The upcoming Hollywood film Oppenheimer, which is slated to hit theatres worldwide on July 21, is one of the most-awaited films of 2023. Early reviews of the film are out and critics are hailing it as one of acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s best directorial efforts. Performances from actors Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr have also received rave responses.

Ahead of the film’s theatrical release, Murphy said he read the Hindu holy scripture, the Bhagvad Gita, to prepare for the character.

"I have become death, the destroyer of worlds" is the most repeated quote of Oppenheimer. He borrowed it from the Gita.

Murphy said: "I did read the Bhagvad Gita in preparation for the film. I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text. Very inspiring. It was a consolation to him. He kind of needed it. It provided a lot of consolation to him all his life.”

Oppenheimer is based on American nuclear physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, who was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the Second World War and is often credited as the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project. He is said to have learned Sanskrit while at Berkley.

The physicist called the Gita “the most beautiful philosophical song existing in any known tongue.” He listed the Bhagvad Gita among the ten books that most shaped his life.

Oppenheimer is due in cinemas on July 21, 2023.

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