Bawaal: Jewish human rights group slams Varun-Janhvi starrer for trivialising sufferings of Nazi holocaust

Ever since Bawaal starring Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan was released, it has been drawing ire for the parallel narrative of a troubled marriage and Second World War. The film’s cast and director Nitesh Tiwari, however, explained that their intentions were pure. Despite that,the film has landed in trouble as a Jewish organisation has written an open letter to Prime Video to take down the movie.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), a human rights NGO dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, slammed the film saying that it has trivialised the sufferings of millions of murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler’s genocidal regime. “Directed by well-known Indian filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari, the film’s storyline which is set in contemporary times, leads to scenes in which the protagonists enter a gas chamber in Auschwitz and are suffocated while wearing striped clothing. Hitler is used as a metaphor in the movie for human greed, with the main protagonist, saying to his wife, ‘We’re all a little like Hitler, aren’t we?’” read the open letter.

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Further, the Jewish organisation added, “Auschwitz is not a metaphor. It is the quintessential example of Man’s capacity for Evil. By having the protagonist in this movie declare that ‘Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz,’ Nitesh Tiwari, trivialises and demeans the memory of 6 million murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler’s genocidal regime. If the filmmaker’s goal was to gain PR for their movie by reportedly filming a fantasy sequence at the Nazi death camp, he has succeeded. Amazon Prime (Prime Video) should stop monetising Bawaal by immediately removing this banal trivialisation of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust."

Backed by Sajid Nadiadwala and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Bawaal also stars Manoj Pahwa, Mukesh Tiwari and Anjuman Saxena in pivotal roles. The film began premiering on Prime Video on June 21, 2023.