Brahmastra controversy: Ranbir, Alia stopped from entering temple in Ujjain for former’s remark over ‘beef’

Ahead of the release of their film Brahmastra Part-1: Shiva, actors Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were stopped by protesters outside the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday for Ranbir’s alleged remarks in the past over ‘beef’. According to several reports, the protesters were members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.

The star couple were accompanied by the director of the film Ayan Mukherjee who was allowed to enter the temple and seek blessings from Lord Shiva before the release of Brahmastra on September 9. Ayan also shared a photo of himself performing pooja at the Mahakaleshwar Temple on Instagram.

“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 was quoted by NDTV.

In 2011, Ranbir while promoting his film Rockstar, had said he loved eating beef. “My family is from Peshawar, so a lot of Peshawari food has come with them. I am a mutton, paya, and beef fan. Yeah, I am a big beef fan,” he had said. The old video has resurfaced ahead of the release of Brahmastra causing outrage.

The furore over the remarks spilled over to social media platforms like Twitter where calls for boycott of the film were made and Alia and Ranbir were called as anti-Hindu.

Apart from Ranbir, the film also stars Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and Mouni Roy. The fantasy drama is one of the biggest Indian films ever made with a reported budget of over Rs. 300 crores.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi shared an old photo of Ranbir with PM Modi as she wrote on Twitter, “None of this photo op will help if you’ll continue to be mute spectators to hate&believe its not your business to talk politics.They will come after you anyway. Mahakaleshwar temple protests in Ujjain is a case in point.Shame that political prejudice is leading to such ugliness.”

-INDIA NEWS STREAM