Approaching the Inevitable Destruction?

Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Chrsitopher Nolan

A few times in the Bhagavadgita, Krishna is said to have shown His true self, Vishvaroopam. He is said to have uttered the now-famous quote, “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, himself a Sanskriti scholar, upon witnessing the detonation of a successful nuclear explosion and seeing the highly explosive nature of his experimentation, is credited to have mentioned the same line.

Now that Oppenheimer’s experience is immortalised on the silver screen with Hollywood’s latest offering, this quote has been scrutinised extensively. One Hindu scholar even mentioned that he had never read such a line in the epic. Something close to the text in the scripture about the destruction of the worlds in Chapter 12, verse 11, is about Time. Time as being the destroyer of physical things. In other words, the scholar Devdutt Pattnaik says Oppenheimer had misinterpreted the text.

The movie apparently was released in two versions. One specific for the Indian and Middle Eastern audiences was released with a U certification, and another with an R rating for the rest of the world so as not to hurt the Hindu sentiments. Still, many are up in arms. The above-mentioned sacred quote is uttered during an intimate sex scene. As the scene had scant relevance to the flow of the story and the availability of two versions, naysayers feel it is a deliberate attempt at mischief.

The movie is a gripping one, depicting a time when the Western world was developing its physical sciences by leaps and bounds. A time when quantum sciences was in its infancy and molecular science was beyond atoms, protons and electrons. We are discussing when Heisenberg, Bohr and Einstein could fit into the same narrative. With the development of science, the trust in the entity of God to take care of His subject diminished. Increasingly, people believed that aristocracy, theocracy and capitalism would not save mankind. Human malady had to be held by its horns, and the socialist and communist rule would spread wealth and justice justly. Leftist ideology was spreading worldwide, especially after witnessing the 1928 stock market crash and the two world wars that ensued.

Father of Atomic Bomb

As it is now, academics have always been leftist in their mindset. Added to Oppenheimer’s liaisons and the era of McCarthyism, Robert Oppenheimer became a scapegoat for allegations of leftist activities. In a gist, this set the storyline. As the enquiry goes on, we get the backstory of his early life, his affair, his wife, his appointment to head the Los Alamos project, the successful Manhattan project, his subsequent regret of unleashing the nuclear beast and his animosity with his working colleagues.

Back in 1980, BBC released a 7-part miniseries on Oppenheimer, starring a young Sam Waterston. Oppenheimer’s predicaments were expressed in a more unrushed manner covering his story in depth as if it was a miniseries.

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When nationalism comes together with science!

The Rocket Boys (Season 1, Ep 1-8; 2022)

Director: Abhay Panu

Network: SonyLIV

The Jataka Tales tells of a kingdom named Vishaili, hailed as the first republic in the world. This was in circa 400 BCE. It is said that there was no one king, but every subject had a say in the running of the state. It seems that everybody had an opinion of how to rule, but nobody took the mantle to take the lead. It was all somebody else's problem, and it ended with nobody doing anything. Pretty soon, the kingdom lost its lustre. Lord Buddha is said to have visited Vishaili thrice in his lifetime.

Vishaili's neighbour was the Magadh Kingdom. It was ruled by a monarchy with a big army. One day the Magadh King attacked Vishaili. The chaotic Vishaili, with no one taking charge, falls down with a whimper. It seems Lord Buddha, who was there meditating (the timeline is questionable, though), frowned when Vishaili was annihilated.

As all stories from the Jataka Tales carry a message, the lesson here is that to keep the peace, a kingdom has to be fully prepared for war as well.

In 1962 when China attacked India, India was in a position comparable to Vishaili. All holding hands, singing kumbayah and ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai’. Buddha would have frowned!

So when Indira Gandhi gave the green light to the BARC Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1972 to detonate their first atomic bomb, the project was aptly coded 'Smiling Buddha'. The fact that it was set off on Buddha Pournami was a side issue. Hence, the message passed to the Indian PM upon its successful launch was 'Buddha has finally smiled', implying that after their 1962 humiliation, the frowning Buddha had finally smiled.

It is unbelievable that upon independence, Nehru actually thought that India did not need its own armed forces, in keeping with India's stance on pacifism which got its freedom in the first place. Actually, historians disagree. They believe that the Indian Navy mutiny of 1946 and the people's dissatisfaction over the trial of the INA soldiers were the lynch pinch of Britons' exit from India.

The recent turn of events reinforced this notion. To keep the peace, the nation needs to show its aggressive side. The world is not a level playing field. If you think it is humane to preach non-violence and abhor destruction, you will end up being the fool. If only Ukraine did not agree to disarm its nuclear arsenal, Russia would not have the gumption to start a war. It will be the 'Prisoner's Dilemma' that will be haunting Putin - will you engage a cheat in a one on one game of Russian roulette?

The Ukraine debacle taught us this. It does not pay to be goody two shoes and live obediently by the rule of law. Of course, being humble, abhorring violence, not resorting to bullying tactics or afflicting discomfort upon your neighbour are all considered noble traits in a civil society. In reality, it does not take us far. The intelligent thing to do is to agree with all of the above but be prepared for eventualities. After all, power is a zero-sum game. To prosper, one nation has to be one notch above its neighbours.

The 1940s were dizzying times for Indians. Blessed with opportunities to sound education laid out by the British, India teemed with Nobel prize materials in sciences. There was Meghnad Saha, an astrophysicist, who gave us the Saha Equation to determine the contents of stars. Then there was CV Raman, the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Physics in the field of light scattering. SN Bose, who collaborated with Einstein to find Einstein-Bose condensate, were their contemporaries.

Combined with unbridled nationalism and raw energy to mark their presence in the world, many young scientists were out to prove their worth. This miniseries is a story of India's first rocket launch, its nuclear facilities' subsequent development, and the detonation of its atomic bomb.

With much liberty of creative licence, the storytellers tell the story of Homi Jahangir Bhabha, the architect of India's nuclear programme, and Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's Space Programme. APJ Kalam, the pioneer of India's rocketry science, is also portrayed. The end of World War 2 saw the Americans holding the helm as the only country with nuclear bombs. As the First World countries scurried to develop their own atomic bomb, young Indian scientists joined the bandwagon, albeit in their own backyard. This is their life story.

Critiques of this miniseries cite the unnecessary creation of fictitious characters and bending of the truth. There was no need to create a Reza, a conniving inferior-complex filled scientist out to falter Bhabha's efforts. Bhabha's assistant Madhur never existed. In real life, Sarabhai's wife, Myralini, was an established Bharatnatyam on her accord. She did not need her husband's approval to dance again after starting their family. In an interview, their daughter, Mallika Sarabhai, mentioned that she spent much time with her father in her early years as her mother was too busy with her performances. That is showbiz for you. I guess the lives of men of science must be pretty mundane, Hence, the need to spice up things.

Sekhar Gupta of The Print, India, opines that there is no need to create a Muslim and a communist-leaning villain named Reza. In reality, Bhabha had professional disagreements with Meghnad Saha, his contemporary. Bhabha and Saha tried to hog the spotlight, but both came from opposing backgrounds. Bhabha was born in a privileged background and had overseas education, whilst Saha came from a disadvantaged caste and strived hard for his education. Saha had socialist leanings, which got him into financial troubles, and he eventually was elected to the Indian Parliament on a socialist ticket.

Bhabha mysterious died in a possible mysterious air crash near Mont Blanc in 1966. It remains a mystery to conspiracy theorists. The suspicious hand of the CIA is clearly implicated in his demise.

Nevertheless, it is a very engaging flick. The sepia-hued backdrop is nostalgic, and the wardrobe and hairstyling arrangements are perfect. It is highly recommended. 4.5/5.

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