Ayan Mukerji on controversial Brahmastra scene – “it’s a Durga Puja pandal, not temple”

With the launch of Ayan Mukerji’s directorial Brahmastra’s trailer, there were reports of a community’s sentiments getting hurt. The issue arose as people from a certain community alleged that a scene shows Ranbir Kapoor entering a temple with his shoes on. The director recently released a statement, where he threw light upon the scene.

Ayan Mukerji addressed the issue as certain people in the community were upset because of a scene in the trailer. The shot shows Ranbir’s character wearing shoes as he rings the bell. Ayan Mukerji said that as the creator of the film and a devotee, he humbly wanted to address what happened here. He said that in the movie, Ranbir was not entering a temple but a Durga Puja Pandal.

The director added that his own family had been organising a similar Durga Puja Celebration for the past 75 years. Therefore he has been a part of one since his childhood. He said that in his experience, shoes were only taken off at the stage where the Goddess is and not when they entered the pandal.

He added that it was personally very important to him to reach out to anyone who was upset with the image. Ayan said that above all, Brahmastra is a movie experience which pays respect to and celebrates Indian culture, traditions and history. At the heart of it, this is why he created the movie and it was very important to him that this feeling reached every Indian watching Brahmastra.