Sona Mohapatra on Ranbir-Alia being stopped from visiting Mahakaleshwar temple: Sick and dangerous precedent to set

The actors, along with filmmaker Ayan Mukerji, were scheduled to visit the temple for darshan ahead of the release of their latest fantasy epic Brahmastra. Members of the Hindu groups, however, staged protests against Ranbir’s old comments about enjoying beef, which recently resurfaced online.

Ranbir and Alia, who got married earlier this year, ultimately chose not to visit the temple amid protests with only Ayan entering the temple’s inner sanctum. Sona Mohapatra, who doesn’t shy away from voicing her opinions about the socio-political issues in the country, called the incident “sick and dangerous.”
“This is just so so SO wrong #India. Let’s not descend into Ochlocracy; #MobRule . Sick & dangerous precedent to set & nothing heroic in any remote way,” she tweeted.

This is just so so SO wrong #India . Let’s not descend into Ochlocracy; #MobRule . Sick & dangerous precedent to set & nothing heroic in any remote way. 🤟🏾 https://t.co/sCO3Z2b5gJ
— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) September 7, 2022
A day after the couple was stopped from visiting the temple, Ranbir and Alia were in Delhi as part of the last leg of the promotion, where Ayan opened up about how he felt bad about the protests as he wanted to visit the temple with Ranbir and Alia.
“I had gone to Mahakaleshwar temple before my motion poster released. And, I had told myself that I would definitely come here before the release of my film. And, both Ranbir and Alia were keen to come with me. But, when we reached there and heard about this, I felt bad about what happened there. And, then I told Ranbir and Alia to let me go alone. I went there to seek blessings and energy for the film,” he said.

Brahmastra, backed Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, is set to release on September 9 amid heavy calls to boycott the film a section on social media. At the event in Delhi, Alia said she does not see the timing of the release clouded in negativity.
“It is a beautiful environment to release a movie. Right now, we need to be healthy, happy, safe, secure. We should all feel grateful for just life in general. So aise kuch mat bolo, aap mat spread karo. The environment is not negative. Everything is positive, everything is good. And that is it,” Alia said.
Shortly after the event, Ranbir and Alia were spotted at the Mumbai airport. When the paps requested Ranbir, who was walking holding Alia’s hands, if he could stop and pose for them, the actor said he has “back pain.”

At Mumbai Airport today. ✈️#RanbirKapoor #AliaBhatt #Brahmastra pic.twitter.com/3Uz3ktcqYy
— Ranbir Kapoor Universe (@RanbirKUniverse) September 7, 2022
Brahmastra is Ranbir’s second theatrical release of this year after the dismissal performance of Shamshera. The actioner backed Yash Raj Films had also released amid negativity and boycott calls but Ranbir, opening up for the first time about it, said the film failed not because of any other reason but simply that the audience didn’t like it.
“If Shamshera didn’t run at the box office it means the audience didn’t like the film. The film didn’t work because the content wasn’t good,” he told media. Brahmastra, meanwhile, has recorded excellent advance bookings and is expected to take a smashing start at the box office with collections upwards of Rs 25 cr.