Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor avoid entering Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple after protests erupt over his decade-old beef comment

Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were unable to enter the Mahakaleshwar Temple for the Sandhya Aarti after Hindu groups staged protests outside the Ujjain temple against their upcoming film Brahmastra. Director Ayan Mukerji, however, entered the temple’s inner sanctum; he also took to social media to post a picture of himself at the temple. The fantasy drama has been targeted for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments. The film’s plot borrows heavily from Hindu mythology, and the cast and crew have repeatedly said that they want to honour Indian culture through the film.
According to several reports, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal protested outside the Mahakaleshwar Temple after Ranbir’s earlier comments about enjoying beef resurfaced online. The protests were brought under control the police. “We won’t allow them to worship at the holy Mahakaleshwar temple as a few days back Ranbir had said that he likes to eat mutton, chicken and beef in non-veg food,” Bajrang Dal leader Ankit Choube was quoted as saying reporters at the venue, according to a News18 report.

 
Earlier in the day, in an Instagram video, Alia said that she was on her way to Ujjain to offer prayers at the Mahakaleshwar Temple, along with Ranbir and Ayan. Pictures of the two actors, wearing traditional clothes, were also shared online. In his Instagram post, Ayan wrote, “Feel very happy and energised to have visited Mahakaleshwar Temple today… Got the most beautiful darshan… Wanted to make this visit to close the film-making journey on Brahmāstra, and to get all the positive energy and blessings for our Release.”
Visuals from the location showed the police dispersing the crowd with force. Another video showed Ayan offering prayers inside the temple. “Since Alia Bhatt is pregnant, she decided not to go to the temple amid the ruckus. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor returned to Indore without darshan. From Indore, they will take a flight to Mumbai,” Ashish Singh, the Collector of Ujjain, told NDTV. To the gathered press, Ayan expressed his gratitude at being able to give ‘darshan’, but refused to comment on the protests.

#उज्जैन आलिया भट्ट और रणवीर कपूर के महाकाल मंदिर पहुंचने से पहले बजरंग दल का बबाल,बजरंग दल ने किया प्रदर्शन, आलिया भट्ट और रणवीर कपूर के महाकाल मंदिर में जाने का कर रहे थे विरोध,प्रदर्शन के दौरान बजरंग दल कार्यकर्ता और पुलिस के बीच हुई झड़प, pic.twitter.com/YYDAxF8cI9
— Vikas Singh Chauhan (@vikassingh218) September 6, 2022
 

For security reasons #RanbirKapoor & #AliaBhatt not attended Mahakaleshwar Temple Sandhya Aarti.
Due to protest against #Brahmastra only director #AyanMukerji reached the temple and seeks the blessings. pic.twitter.com/hmaVBkcOxu
— Ashwani kumar (@BorntobeAshwani) September 6, 2022
 
Brahmastra has been the target of trolls and extrems for weeks, much like several other big-ticket Bollywood films released this year. But unlike those films, the fantasy drama is reportedly off to a good start at the box office, having sold the second-highest number of advance tickets this year. The film, reportedly produced on a record budget of Rs 410 crore, also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni and others, and is expected to kick-start a trilogy.