Bawaal Controversy: Israel Ambassador Slams Varun Dhawan Starrer, Says 'Those Who Do Not Know...'

Ever since its release, Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Bawaal has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The film has been accused of trivialising the suffering of the victims of the Holocaust. Recently, Ambassador of Israel to India Naor Gilon also took to Twitter to express disappointment with the film. He mentioned that even though he hasn’t watched Bawaal yet, he urges those who aren’t aware of the Holocaust to ‘educate themselves’.

“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,” the ambassador wrote on Twitter.

This comes a day after the Israeli embassy in India also issued a statement criticising the movie. It mentioned that they are ‘disturbed by the trivialization of the significance of the Holocaust’ in 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 fully aware of the horrors of the Holocaust to educate themselves about it,” the statement added.

In Bawaal, Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor visit a gas chamber in Auschwitz. In one of the scenes, they enter a gas chamber in a dream-like sequence and struggle to breathe. In another scene, Janhvi’s character talked about human greed when she said, “Aren’t we all a little like Hitler?” and added, “Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz.”

However, earlier this month, Varun Dhawan defended his movie and told Pinkvilla, “Some people got trigged or sensitive about this. But I don’t understand where does that sensitivity or trigger go when they watch, suppose an English film, I’m saying for example. They’re allowed to do everything there, they’re allowed to take leaps and they’re allowed to show things in a certain way, but you’ll find that correct.”

Prior to Varun, the film’s director Nitesh Tiwari also defended his film recently and shared that he is “a bit disappointed with the way some people have comprehended it”.