Bollywood couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were stopped from offering prayers at the Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain due to a protest by Bajrang Dal activists.
According to the police, the couple was supposed to offer prayers on Tuesday for which the temple committee along with the district administration and the police had made elaborate security arrangements.
However, the Bajrang Dal activists opposed the actors' entry based on an alleged remark made by Ranbir Kapoor in 2011. A video of the incident right-wing activists protesting surfaced on social media on Wednesday.
"Due to security concerns, the couple returned from Ujjain to Indore without offering prayers at temple in the wake of the protests. However, other members of 'Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva' film crew later offered prayers at the temple," said a police official in Ujjain.
Meanwhile, the police detained one of the protesters after he got into a physical altercation with an officer on duty.
As per informed sources, Ranbir and Alia stayed at Ujjain district collector Ashish Singh's official residence before returning to Indore. They added that the collector is a friend of Ayan Mukerji, the film's director. The director said it felt great after offering prayers at the temple ahead of the film's release but refrained from saying anything about the protests.
