Oppenheimer Intimate Scene With Gita Reference Was 'Inappropriate': American Prometheus Author

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer not only was a box office success despite the famous Barbenheimer clash, but also in essence revived Hollywood box office alongside its counterpart release Barbie. The movie went on to win seven Oscars as well, cementing its place as some of the most critically and commercially acclaimed movies in Hollywood.

In a new interview, co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, on which Nolan's Oppenheimer is based, shared his experience of visiting the film sets during shoot. He also talked about the controversial sex scene in the movie featuring Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh.

Kai Bird on his visit to Oppenheimer sets

Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin are the authors of American Prometheus. Bird and Sherwin were among the first in the long list of people that Nolan, who also wrote the script of the movie, thanked while receiving his maiden Oscar. Sherwin, who died in 2021, worked on the book from 1980 until its publication in 2005. Bird joined as his writing partner in 2000 after a great deal of persuasion.

In Bird’s view, the controversial intimate scene in the movie, involving J Robert Oppenheimer and his lover Jean Tatlock reading Bhagavad Gita in bed together, may have been both "improbable" and "inappropriate".

Oppenheimer had learnt Sanskrit and was said to be influenced by Gita. The scene featuring a line from Hindu holy book led to protests in India.

"My wife said, 'it was unnecessary' . In the movie he was trying to tell two things there: conveying Oppenheimer's interest in the Gita, and in Sanskrit, and explaining his love for Tatlock. So maybe it was inappropriate to combine the two," Bird told PTI.

American Prometheus makes it to best seller's list, courtesy of Oppenheimer

Kai Bird also shared that his book was a moderate success at best but Oppenheimer landed it in NYT's best seller's list. The book is now available in multiple editions across the world, including Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

"It is amazing, the book came out 18 years ago and now it has found a new life, a new much larger audience. When it came out it got very respectful reviews, it sold modestly, but it never got on any bestsellers list. But now because of Nolan's movie it has been on the bestsellers list in the NYT," Bird added.