Ranbir Kapoor’s old comments on beef have come to haunt him and his pregnant wife Alia Bhatt as both decided to skip their temple visit in Madhya Pradesh amidst protests. The development prompted Madhya Pradesh’s BJP Home Minister Narottam Mishra to react saying that actors should be mindful of their public utterances.
Ranbir and Alia were in Ujjain to visit the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple as part of their film promotion of Brahmastra Part-1: Shiva. Also joining them was the film’s director, Ayan Mukherji, who later visited the temple.
However, Ranbir and Alia decided to not visit the temple amidst protests by a section of Hindus.
In 2011, Ranbir had said in an interview that he ate beef.”I am a mutton, paya, beef…red meat guy. I’m a big beef guy,” Ranbir was quoted as saying.
Hindu groups have now launched protests against Ranbir for his 2011 interview and called for a boycott of his upcoming film. Ranbir acted in many blockbusters since his last interview but there were no protests against him or calls for the boycott of his films.
The BJP came to power in 2014 with Narendra Modi becoming the country’s prime minister. Experts believe that the religious intolerance grew significantly since the BJP came to power eight years ago.
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.”
She wrote in her subsequent post, “This selective protest before every movie release has become an industry& a lobby, if not collectively pushed back we are fast heading into an abyss of hate,fear& silence. The entertainment industry is an employment generator, lakhs depend on it. Speak up.”
Elsewhere, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that the administration had made proper arrangements to ensure the safe visit of the temple for Ranbir and Alia but the actors reportedly decided to not enter the temple. Mishra, however, advised Ranbir that he should be careful in his choice of words during interviews.