Published on 11:37 AM, July 30, 2023

Israeli Embassy criticises Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor's 'Bawaal'

Photo: Collected

The Israeli Embassy in India and Jewish rights organisations have condemned Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor's recent film "Bawaal" for its content. They claim that the film trivialises the Holocaust's significance. 

"There was a poor choice in the utilisation 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.

Meanwhile, a prominent Jewish rights organisation has attacked the Bollywood film for employing insensitive Holocaust images and dialogue.

According to the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, the film trivialises "the suffering and systematic murder of millions," as reported by the BBC. 

"By having the protagonist in this film 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," read in their official statement.

Since the release of "Bawal" on OTT platform, the film has received criticism for incorporating the Auschwitz metaphor into a relationship dilemma, with the main characters dropping Hitler's name in language such as "We are all a little like Hitler." "Every relationship goes through its Auschwitz," says another character in the film. The characters in the film fall in love while travelling to Europe and visiting Second World War locations.