Top Israeli officials have condemned a Bollywood film for “trivialising” the deaths of millions of Jews in the Holocaust.
Bawaal, released earlier this month, centres on a history teacher named Ajay who has been feigning knowledge about World War II to his students — and whose marriage to his wife Nisha is at breaking point.
Ajay and Nisha embark on a trip to visit war landmarks throughout Europe in a bid to save their marriage. During the trip, Ajay learns about the horrors of the Holocaust, and the couple use the crisis as a metaphor for their marriage.
The couple’s tour of World War II sites takes them to Paris, the beaches of Normandy, Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam, Hitler’s bunker in Berlin and finally Auschwitz. Ajay and Nisha tour the death camp and imagine themselves as its Jewish prisoners clad in striped uniforms.
The scene from the film has drawn criticism from antisemitism campaigners at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre who urged Amazon Prime to remove it.
The Israeli embassy is disturbed by the trivialization of the significance of the Holocaust in the recent movie ‘Bawaal’.
There was a poor choice in the utilization of some terminology in the movie, and though we assume no malice was intended, we urge everyone who may not be…
— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) July 28, 2023
Now the Israeli Embassy in India has waded in on the backlash. Posting on Twitter, the embassy said: “The Israeli embassy is disturbed by the trivialisation of the significance of the Holocaust in the recent movie ‘Bawaal’.
“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.
“Our embassy is constantly working to propagate educational materials on this crucial subject, and we are open to engaging in conversations with all individuals to foster a better understanding of the universal lessons derived from the Holocaust.
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The film was released earlier this month (Photo: Getty)
The ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon, added in a statement: “I did not and will not watch the film Bawaal but from what I’ve read, there was a poor choice of terminology and symbolism.
“Trivialisation of the Holocaust should disturb all. I urge those who don’t know enough about the horrors of the #Holocaust to educate themselves about it.”
But Hindi-language megastar Varun Dhawan who plays Ajay defended the film and his role and added: “I respect everyone’s opinion; everyone has a right to have an opinion.
I did not and will not watch the film Bawaal but from what I’ve read, there was a poor choice of terminology and symbolism.
Trivialization of the Holocaust should disturb all.
I urge those who don’t know enough about the horrors of the #Holocaust to educate themselves about it.— Naor Gilon (@NaorGilon) July 28, 2023
“Some people got triggered, they got sensitive about this. But I don’t understand where that sensitivity goes when they watch, suppose, an English film.”
Nitesh Tiwari, who co-wrote the script with four other writers added: “I’m a bit disappointed with the way some people have comprehended it.”
Another part of the story has the couple drawing parallels between a bag mix-up at the airport and the Nazis forcing Jews to pack their bags quickly when they were being shipped off to the camps.
