Bawaal starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, has been mired in controversy since its release on Amazon Prime Video on July 21. The controversy stems from a scene in the film that compares the challenges of a couple's marriage to the atrocities of Holocaust. The film compares a troubled marriage to Hitler's regime and the concentration camps in Auschwitz. In the scene, Varun's character tells Janhvi that "every relationship goes through its Auschwitz." Bawaal: Director Nitesh Tiwari Says, 'It Is An Emotionally Layered Piece, Will Make You Pause And Reset'.

This comparison has been widely criticised as insensitive and disrespectful to the memory of those who suffered during the Holocaust. The controversy has led to calls for a boycott of the film. Now, amid the chaos, film's director Nitesh Tiwari, and stars Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor have reacted to the hate their flick's receiving. Check out what they said below. Bawaal: Varun Dhawan–Janhvi Kapoor’s Chemistry Is Too Hot To Handle in This Photoshoot! Check Out Their Monochrome Pics.

Varun Dhawan On Bawaal Facing Backlash

In an interview with Pinkvilla, VD said, "I respect everyone's opinions and everyone has a right to have an opinion. Some people got triggered and sensitive about this but I don't understand where that sensitivity or the trigger goes when they watch an English film. They are allowed to do and show everything and you will find that in a correct way."

"I'm not new to criticism. My films Judwaa, Main Tera Hero and ABCD2, have been criticized which is totally cool. I respect the criticism. What I don't understand like how Sir (Nitesh Tiwari) said that it's a context and the protagonist is from Lucknow and it's showing that the character which is Ajju Bhaiya is initially a tone-deaf character," he added.

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Janhvi Kapoor Reacts to Criticism For Bawaal

"I know someone, he’s a professor at an Ivy League university, and he’s an Israeli. He had ancestors that unfortunately did not survive the Holocaust. He saw the film, and was moved by it. He understood everything that we set out to do with the film, and never once in the conversation did he ever allude to being offended by anything. It depends on people’s views. The intention has always been pure, and always to acknowledge the turmoil, the devastation and the monstrosity of what happened," she said, as per report in India Express.

"It’s important to understand the intention, always. And if you misunderstand the attention, that’s what I would call tone-deaf," she added. Bawaal Movie Review: Varun Dhawan and Jahnvi Kapoor Take You Through a Tedious European Tour in This Nitesh Tiwari Film (LatestLY Exclusive).

Nitesh Tiwari On Auschwitz Sequence

“We’ve made Bawaal with a lot of love, a lot of care, and a lot of good intentions. And predominantly, it’s been understood the way I wanted people to understand it. And that’s been quite overwhelming. However, I’m a bit disappointed with the way some people have comprehended it. That was never the intention. It would never be my intention to be insensitive in any which way. It was a context," he told to Pinkvilla."Now let me tell you what happens in Auschwitz. Don’t we see Ajju and Nisha getting completely troubled and moved by what they see in Auschwitz? They do," he added. 

"They see the prisoners, people and how they were stacked, exterminated, and every physical torture people went through. Are they being insensitive about it? No. They are moved to tears when they are seeing the wall of death and photo gallery. Now, that was the physical aspect of Auschwitz, then there is an emotional aspect: the survivor telling his own story. When he talks about Auschwitz, he’s talking about his own personal experience. He is not generalizing everything which happened," he concluded.

Bawaal is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2023 02:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).