Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt have this to say about negativity against Bollywood

With just two days left for Bollywood's big-budget film 'Brahmastra' to hit the big screens, the film's lead pair Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt along with the filmmaker Ayan Mukerji addressed the media in New Delhi on Wednesday and spoke about how they have lived through the film for the last 5 years.

'Brahmastra' has been facing protests on social media as trolls have demanded a boycott of the film over past interviews of Alia and Ranbir which they have claimed hurt their religious sentiments.

While the 'B' word was avoided at the press meet, the stars of the film were asked to address the current cancel culture which has in fact affected box office numbers of the recent Bollywood releases including Ranbir's 'Shamshera'.

"I'll speak for my own film. A month and a half back my film 'Shamshera' was released in theatres. I didn't feel any negativity around it. The film did not work at the box office because maybe the audience didn't like it. Eventually, it is about the content. People go to the cinemas to experience different emotions, have a great laugh and cry- we all go to the theatres for that. If a film doesn't work, it is because the content did not work, not for any other reason. That's the truth. "

Ranbir's wife, Alia Bhatt too refused to acknowledge the recent boycott trend that exists in India and said the climate of the country is perfect to release a film like 'Brahmastra'.

"It is a beautiful environment to release a film like 'Brahmastra'. We should all be grateful, that we are healthy. The climate is not negative. We should be grateful that films are back in theatres."

At the event, the press was shown 20 minutes of the film's footage which gave a glimpse of the scale of the film. Mounted on a huge scale with VFX done by a company based outside India, 'Brahmastra' attempts to blend Hindu mythology and modern technology together to tell a original story, said the film's creator Ayan Mukherji. The film has been in the making for 5 years and Mukerji started writing it 10 years back.

A labour of love for the team, Mukerji revealed that the film's final post production work ended just a few days back and that he was anxious of how the audience would take in the film.

The trio, on Tuesday had faced protest as they made their way to Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh- a state in central India. The three were supposed to visit the temple together but due to protests from local groups, Alia and Ranbir had reportedly decided to skip their visit. Clearing the air, Mukerji stated that it was he who had discouraged the two to visit owing to Alia's health. The actress is expecting her first child with Ranbir Kapoor.

"Both of them were very keen about coming with me to the temple. But when we reached Ujjain and we heard about the protests, I didn't want to take Alia along due to her current condition. I felt very bad later than they could have easily come along with me, so that's on me,"

When the trio was asked what would they say to those who had called for a boycott of the film, Ayan replied, "In 'Brahmastra' we have this line, 'The light is coming.' By light we mean everything positive and spiritual in life. We must only spread light and positivity in life. We have worked so hard for this film, it has so much of celebration of Indian culture, that I feel every Indian will see it and feel that positivity."

'Brahmastra' releases in theatres on September 9. It features Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy in prominent roles.