Cillian Murphy calls 'Bhagavad Gita' 'very inspiring'

Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular character in Christopher Nolan’s most anticipated film of the year, recently revealed that he read the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ as part of his preparation for the role.

Murphy also opened up about his process of portraying theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the father of the atom bomb.

In an interview with Sucharita Tyagi, Murphy shared, “I did read the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in preparation and I thought it was an absolutely beautiful text and very inspiring. I think it was a consolation to Oppenheimer. He kind of needed it and it provided him a lot of consolation all his life.”

When asked about his learnings from the holy book, Murphy joked and said, “Well, don’t grill me on it! I just found it very beautiful.”

Nolan’s biographical drama, also starring Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon and Florence Pugh, is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer’, authored by Kai Bird and the late Martin J Sherwin.

The film is slated for its worldwide theatrical release on July 21, along with Greta Gerwig’s much-awaited film ‘Barbie’, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the lead roles.