Bawaal’s cringey comparison of Holocaust with relationships will give you second-hand embarrassment

After romanticizing predators and promoting Islamophobia, Bollywood thinks mirroring a toxic relationship with the traumas of the 1945 Nazi reign in Germany is what we have been missing all along.

Starring Varun Dhawan and Jhanvi Kapoor, the film ‘Bawaal’ explores the troubles of a married couple who decide to visit all of the places in Europe that were deemed important to World War II, deciding that the battlefield would be the perfect backdrop to mirror the traumas of two elite people.

A scene going viral on Twitter features Jhanvi’s character saying: ‘Every relationship goes through their own Auschwitz”.

I never understand why actors don’t say NO to such projects. Especially those like #VarunDhawan or #JahnviKapoor who can easily pick films they want to do.

Imagine, having a choice and picking THIS? 🤮#Bawaal pic.twitter.com/Bp2maW4PP0

— Somya Lakhani (@somyalakhani) July 21, 2023

Twitter users slammed director Nitesh Tiwari for reducing a horrifying historical event to domestic spats.

“Did they go to school or bother to watch any historical documentary?” one user wrote.

Did they go to school or bother to watch any historical documentary? https://t.co/FbkBcfqiQu

— Mishi Choudhary (@MishiChoudhary) July 21, 2023

They are evidently ignorant about the extent of this grossly problematic movie. If they did, they certainly would have not even considered it, let alone acted it. Don’t even know where to begin with the WTF premise of this movies. https://t.co/jmKtxDF47u

— anatlasofallthatisee (@priyankasacheti) July 22, 2023

Probably because they have no idea of what Hitler did and what Auschwitz represents? And Varun Dhawan doesn't even say no banyan ads https://t.co/YyhFYKBFLp

— Debasish Roy Chowdhury (@Planet_Deb) July 21, 2023

Another clip from the film sees the couple discussing Hitler, with Jhanvi saying:

“We all too are a little like Hitler, aren’t we? We aren’t satisfied with what we have. We want what others have.”

True!!! Beautiful movie #Bawaal !! Beautiful message !! I liked the way #NiteshTiwari took ww2 reference and showed life problems by giving its references!!! So beautiful!!! #JanhviKapoor was good !! #varun as usual! pic.twitter.com/NSrfK52KOo

— VAIBHAV 🇮🇳 (@BhaktWine) July 21, 2023

Thee trailer for the film, released two weeks ago, featured a scene where Varun Dhavan looks at Hitler’s image and in the backdrop Jhanvi is saying “We’re all a bit like Hitler.”

A failing marriage because of an image-conscious, insecure and toxic man. #Bawaal could have been watchable (may be) if it had NOTHING to do with World War II. It baffles me that the makers thought it was necessary/alright to bring the Holocaust into the narrative. https://t.co/0iixxNihCS

— Prapthi (@prapthi_m) July 22, 2023

Responding to the accusations of ‘tone-deaf’ and ‘insensitive portrayal of a tragedy’, Tiwari spoke to The Hindustan Times about it.

“While creating a character, you can go back and look at the events and incidents which can play an important role in the overall arc of that character and the relationship in general. It’s not just about Hitler. There are many more things that you may not have seen in the trailer. Every incident has been very carefully chosen that can have an impact on the overall arc.”

Bawaal has been panned by critics with The Guardian giving it one star and saying it lacked in “fun, pep, humour and charm”. The Hindustan Times called it “the most insensitive film of the year.”