‘Brahmastra’: Protests outside Ujjain temple ahead of Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor's visit

‘Brahmastra’, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, is all set to release in theatres on September 9. Ahead of its release, the actors along with director Ayan Mukerji planned to visit the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain for Sandhya Aarti and seek blessings. However, the trio faced backlash as protestors reached the site and caused disruption in their plans.

Bajrang Dal activists stopped Ranbir and Alia from entering the temple citing former’s 'beef' comment.

Ujjain CSP Om Prakash Mishra said the protesters clashed with police officers. ‘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,’ Mishra told news agency ANI.

However, Bajrang Dal activists claimed they were protesting peacefully with black flags, but police started cane-charging them.
‘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,’ said a Bajrang Dal activist.

Ranbir and Alia reportedly avoided attending the aarti due to security reasons, but Ayan Mukerji managed to enter the temple to seek blessings. He shared a picture of him on Instagram and said, ‘3 DAYS AWAY… 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 #brahmastra’.

‘Brahmastra’ also features Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, and Mouni Roy. The film is set to release in around 8000 screens, which is the highest in Bollywood films.

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