'Oppenheimer' Sex Scene Between Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh Condemned by Indian Officials as 'Attack on Hinduism'

The scene — which shows Hindu scripture — sparked outrage on Twitter: “A direct assault on religious beliefs”

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is being criticized by Indian officials who claim that a sex scene between Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh is “a scathing attack on Hinduism."

In a lengthy post on Twitter, Uday Mahurkar, founder of the Save Culture Save India (SCSI) Foundation, wrote “a scene in the movie shows a woman makes a man read Bhagwad Geeta aloud while getting over him and doing sexual intercourse. She is holding Bhagwad Geeta in one hand, and the other hands seems to be adjusting the position of their reproductive organs.”

“The Bhagwad Geeta is one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism,” he continued, adding the scene “is a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus” and “almost appears to be part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces.”

In the scene, Murphy, 47, as J. Robert Oppenheimer, reads the sacred text, “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” while being intimate with Pugh's Jean Tatlock.

Mahurkar said it crossed a “red line,” claiming “Islamophobia," adding that removing the scene would “win hearts of Hindus, it will go a long way to establish your credentials as a sensitized human being and gift you friendship of billions of nice people.”

Some moviegoers in India went to Oppenheimer showings as early as 3 a.m. on opening day, and social media erupted with protests soon after, Variety reported. According to the outlet, India’s minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur has also asked for the sex scene to be deleted.

Related: Robert Downey Jr. Says Cillian Murphy Made Biggest Sacrifice of Any Actor He's Ever Seen for 'Oppenheimer' (Exclusive)

As PEOPLE previously reported, Nolan, 52,  told Insider how he felt about shooting sex scenes between Murphy and Pugh, 27.

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Oppenheimer is rated R for "some sexuality, nudity and language." It's the first of the director's films to include sex scenes; he's known for films like The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar and more.

When asked whether he was nervous how audiences might react to sex scenes in the movie, Nolan said, "Any time you're challenging yourself to work in areas you haven't worked in before, you should be appropriately nervous and appropriately careful and planned and prepared.”

Related: See the Cast of 'Oppenheimer' Compared to the Historical Figures They Play

"When you look at Oppenheimer's life and you look at his story, that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, it's an essential part of his story," he added.

In a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Murphy explained that his sex scenes with the Little Women actress were "written deliberately" by Nolan and were not included for a "gratuitous" reason.

"[Christopher] knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got. And I think when you see it, it's so f---- powerful. And they're not gratuitous. They're perfect. And Florence is just amazing," Murphy said.

"I have loved Florence's work since Lady Macbeth, and I think she's f---- phenomenal," the Peaky Blinders actor continued. "She has this presence as a person and on screen that is staggering. The impact she has [in Oppenheimer] for the size of the role, it's quite devastating."

Related: Emily Blunt Trolled 'Oppenheimer' Director Christopher Nolan by Gifting Him Uggs After He Criticized Hers

As the year's most anticipated tandem of film releases, Barbie and Oppenheimer — coined “Barbenheimer” — hit movie theaters over the weekend. The Greta Gerwig-directed film came out on top, scoring $155 million in its opening run, marking the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, Variety reported.

Oppenheimer made an incredible $80.5 million in its first three days in theaters.

The film features —along with Murphy and Pugh, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, David Krumholtz, Josh Peck, Casey Affleck, Benny Safdie, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh and Jack Quaid, among others.

Oppenheimer is in theaters now.

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