Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer: Why the father of atomic bomb was offered Indian citizenship by Nehru?

With the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the father of atomic bomb has again become the topic of discussion among all. Directed by British-American filmmaker Christopher Edward Nolan, the film is based on a book co-authored by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, titled American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer.

After controversial downfall of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, PM Nehru offered him Indian citizenship. According to a report published in The Hindustan Times, Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, was offered Indian citizenship by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954 after the famed American physicist was shunned by his own country. But her didn’t consider the offer.

But I do not think Oppenheimer considered the offer seriously because he was a deeply patriotic American,” Kai Bird, the co-author of the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, told Hindustan Times in an interview.

Bird said nine years after being celebrated as America’s greatest scientist, Oppenheimer was brought down in “a terrible kangaroo court” and stripped of his security clearance in a virtual security hearing. “He became the chief victim of the McCarthy witch-hunts,” he said, referring to the term coined to describe Republican senator Joseph R McCarthy’s practise of publicly accusing government employees of disloyalty and the use of dubious methods of prosecuting them when the government was countering communism in the US.

About Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’

Oppenheimer is an adaptation of the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, written by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The trailers for Nolan’s movie have already been published, revealing its breath-taking graphics and equally impressive cast, along with inventive vision of the director. Being focused on Cillian Murphy, who plays the title character, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the film’s impressively assembled ensemble also includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie and Robert Downey Jr.

According to USA Today Christopher Nolan’s historical thriller Oppenheimer, has been called the most important story of our time. Written and directed by Nolan, Oppenheimer will be in theatres July 21and it chronicles the 1940s origins of the atomic bomb and physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s work with fellow scientists as part of the Manhattan Project. A new video featurette (debuting exclusively at usatoday.com) reveals fresh footage plus digs into the film’s plot, use of practical effects and real locations (such as the campus of Princeton University and Oppenheimer’s house in New Mexico), and the A-list cast Nolan has assembled to tell his story.

Based on the biography called American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the movie traces the life and times of the titular nuclear physicist who is referred to as the “father of atomic bomb” for his contribution to the Manhattan Project, which led to the development of first nuclear weapon. This is the first project by Nolan in more than two decades that does not involve Warner Bros, the studio with which he had a falling out over the release strategy of his last pic, the science-fiction action-thriller ‘Tenet’. ‘Oppenheimer’ has both been written and directed by Nolan, which is not unusual for him. Hoyte van Hoytema, who Nolan also collaborated on ‘Interstellar’ and ‘Dunkirk’, will handle the camera. Jennifer Lame is the editor. Ludwig Göransson has written the background score, returning from ‘Tenet’.

About Oppenheimer, the father of atomic bomb

After playing a pivotal role in the “Manhattan Project” that developed the world’s first atomic bomb, which was dropped in Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Oppenheimer vociferously advocated for anti-war policies and nuclear curtailment.

He believed that fundamental assumptions of the United States defense policy at the time were laced with “ignorance and follies.” Due to public rhetoric against nuclear weapons, he came at odds with the US establishment of the time during the Cold War era.

In India, Oppenheimer is known for reciting the scriptures from Bhagavad Gita on the day the main nuclear test was conducted on July 16, 1945. Soon after the top secret test was conducted, he recited: “Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of the Worlds.”

After the United States won the second world war, Oppenheimer warned his countrymen of the dangers to constrain America’s reliance on nuclear weapons. However, the US government questioned his loyalty and put him on trial, an incident that defined his life and inspired the Hollywood blockbuster by Nolan.

(With added inputs from agencies)