Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, who were in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, ahead of the release of their film Brahmastra Part One: Shiva, could not enter the Mahakaleshwar Temple because they were stopped by protestors over Ranbir’s previous comments on beef.

Only director Ayan Mukerji could enter the temple to seek blessings of Lord Shiva ahead of the release on September 9.

Ranbir, Alia and Ayan had left for Ujjain on Tuesday to offer prayers at Mahakaleshwar Temple. The trio was welcomed by political activists in Ujjain, who did not let the actors attend the aarti in the temple. The protestors allegedly fought with the police personnel also.

"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," Ujjain CSP Om Prakash Mishra told ANI.

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 guy," he had said. The old video has resurfaced ahead of the release of Brahmastra, leading to boycott calls against the film on Twitter.

Ayan, on the other hand, shared a photo on Instagram performing prayers at the temple. He can be seen with a red tika and garlands around his neck. “3 DAYS AWAY (from Brahmastra release)… 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 Brahmastra, and to get all the positive energy and blessings for our release,” he wrote.

Brahmastra also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy. It is slated to be released on September 9.