Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor's 'Bawaal' Hits Major Controversy

Mumbai, July 28 - Well-known Bollywood filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari's romantic drama "Bawaal" starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor was supposed to be an experimental love story in the backdrop of World War II but it is turning into a major controversial attempt on this historical chapter.

The film has been accused of trivializing and demeaning the deaths of millions of Jews killed during the Holocaust by using Auschwitz as a metaphor for relationship problems. Many critics in India and internationally have slammed the film for drawing parallels to Jews suffering in Auschwitz camp and dying.



Produced by Nadiadwala Entertainment, "Bawaal" tells the story of a history teacher who is embarrassed by his new wife's epilepsy. As they travel together to Europe to visit historic second world war sites, they fall in love with each other.

The movie receives a strong rebuke from the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), an NGO dedicated to the well-being of Jews as well as the Holocaust victims. The NGO has issued a statement demanding the removal of the film from Amazon Prime Video which is the exclusive streaming partner of the film.

"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, trivializes and demeans the memory of 6 million murdered Jews and millions of others who suffered at the hands of Hitler's genocidal regime", SWC said in a statement.



The NGO called on Amazon to remove the movie from its platform and to stop "monetizing" the Holocaust. "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 should stop monetizing Bawaal by immediately removing this banal trivialization of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust", the statement further read. Prime Video has not responded yet.

"Bawaal" was meant for theatrical release before makers changed their minds and send the movie directly to Amazon Prime Video. It was released on July 21 and despite the criticism, the movie is turning out to be a successful venture for the streamer.

Stay tuned...