Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starrer, Brahmastra, has been in news for quite some time now. For the past few weeks, #BoycottBrahmastra is trending on social media for many different reasons. And, recently, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s big-budget movie faced another major hurdle during a promotional event at Ujjain.
As per various sources, Bajrang Dal activists on Tuesday stopped the couple from entering Ujjain’s Mahakal temple.
Before the release of their movie on Sep 9th, the lead pair had visited Ujjain’s Mahakal temple to seek blessings. But, in no time, videos of police charging at protestors went viral on social media.
Sharing the details about the situation, Ujjain CSP Om Prakash Mishra shared with ANI, “We were making arrangements as some VIPs were about to visit Mahakaleshwar temple. During which some people started gathering here to protest against them. One of the protestors started fighting with police officers.”
Bajrang Dal men protest ahead of film actor couple Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt’s visit to Ujjain’s Mahakal Temple, over Kapoor’s 2011 statement on beef eating. Holding black flags, the protestors gathered outside temple’s VVIP Gate. @NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/VAQPSOx6o2
— Anuraag Singh (@anuraag_niebpl) September 6, 2022
Post the protest, the police officials took action under section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code against a right-wing activist.
In another viral video, Bajrang Dal activist said, “We are protesting against Ranbir Kapoor and won’t let him enter the Mahakal temple. He made derogatory statements against our gaumata. He had said eating beef is good.”
Ujjain: ‘Anti-Hindu’ Alia Bhatt and ‘Beef eater’ Ranbir Kapoor Could not defile the Mahakal temple after the uproar by Hindu Lions .
— 🇮🇳Manishika (@Staunch_NaMo) September 6, 2022
Imagine the uproar when all the Hindus from round the corner will stand united.#HarHarMahadevॐ 🙏🚩 pic.twitter.com/RZTgNLScIr
Brutal!
— Ritu #सत्यसाधक (@RituRathaur) September 6, 2022
Watch how Ujjain Police is beating up Hindus(bajrang dal) who were peacefully protesting against coming of Ranbir Kapoor &Alia Bhatt in Mahakal Temple premises
So for BJP this is the value of their own Hindu karyakartas in front of Bollywood actors?
Disgusting & shameful! pic.twitter.com/IyOR82fbhB
What did Ranbir Kapoor say about beef that landed him in trouble?
Few days back, a clip from Ranbir’s 2011 interview went viral. In the interview, which was conducted during Rockstar promotions, Ranbir said, “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”.
— Filmy Pulao (@FilmyPulao) August 27, 2022
This video added more fuel to the Boycott fire. In the recent past, many movies like Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha or Rakshabandhan have faced the brunt of boycott calls. These star-studded movies fail to create any magic at the box office.
No one can deny that it is very important for Bollywood that Brahmastra, the movie made on a massive budget of 410 Crores, works at the box office. Ayan Mukerji’s directorial Brahmastra is a big challenge on its way. It is the most expensive film made in Bollywood so far.
Amid Bollywood’s dull phase, many are wondering if it will be able to recover that humungous amount. It would be interesting to see how Brahmastra will perform at the box office and whether it will be able to surpass the collections of the films that didn’t work well at the box office recently!