#BoycottBrahmastra on Twitter is an ominous sign for Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt's upcoming film

Upcoming Ranbir Kapoor film Brahmastra: Part One- Shiva, a Rs 450 crore mega project, is the latest Bollywood movie to have fallen prey to boycott calls. Netizens have cited several reasons behind the same– Alia Bhatt’s ‘if you don’t like me, don’t watch me’ comment, Ranbir Kapoor’s food habits and Ayan Mukerji’s 2019 Instagram post about Brahmastra’s initial preparations. 

Bhatt, who was last seen in the Netflix film Darlings opposite Shefali Shah, told Mid-Day, “I can’t keep defending myself verbally. And if you don’t like me, don’t watch me. I can’t help it.” She further said she cannot do anything about it as people have something or the other to say. Bhatt added that she does feel bad about this but hopes to silence critics with her movies. 

Days after Alia Bhatt’s comments in an interview with Mid-Day, an old video of Kapoor with food blogger and writer Kunal Vijaykar is doing the rounds on social media.  In this video, Kapoor and Vijaykar can be seen gorging on delectable meals. This is when Kapoor says, “I am a big beef guy.”

Amid calls for a boycott of the film, Ayan Mukerji’s Instagram post from 2019 has also gone viral. In this post, Mukerji says “Dragon” became Brahmastra and Kapoor’s character was supposed to be long-haired Rumi and not Shiva. 

Mukerji’s Instagram post read, “Rumi. First he was Rumi. Rumi with long hair. This image is from an early look test for the movie. Rumi said, ‘Love is the bridge between you and everything…,’ and that feeling is the foundation we started building the protagonist of this movie on… But then, there was new inspiration, newer thoughts… Dragon became Brahmastra, we gave Ranbir a haircut, and Rumi became Shiva.”

Also read: 'If you don't like me, don't watch me': Alia Bhatt's words trigger #BoycottBrahmastra; Ranbir Kapoor's hopes of hit jolted

Here's how the Internet reacted 

Watch Brahmastra trailer

Also read: Trailer of Ranbir Kapoor-starrer 'Brahmastra' releases on YouTube; here’s how netizens reacted

Films such as Akshay Kumar-starrer Raksha Bandhan, Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, Puri Jagannadh-directorial Liger and Taapsee Pannu’s Dobaaraa have been the latest casualties to the boycott trend. 

Laal Singh Chaddha faced boycott calls for Aamir Khan’s portrayal of the character and also because many believed the film to be disrespectful to the Indian Army, while Raksha Bandhan faced this challenge after old tweets of the film’s writer Kanika Dhillon resurfaced online. 

Liger, on the other hand, faced boycott calls soon after Deverakonda’s commented on the Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha trend. The actor, who gained prominence with Arjun Reddy, told India Today, “When Aamir Khan sir makes a Laal Singh Chaddha, it is his name that stars in the film, but there are 2,000-3,000 families that are being provided for. When you decide to boycott a film, you are not only affecting Aamir Khan, you are affecting thousands of families who lose work and livelihoods.”

Taapsee Pannu-starrer Dobaaraa also met the same fate due to director Anurag Kashyap and Pannu’s comments regarding the Boycott Bollywood trend.

Seeing as how big-budget Bollywood films with some of the industry's finest stars had to face the brunt of the boycott calls, things are not looking all that rosy for Ranbir and Alia's upcoming film. It is all the more concerning as Bollywood, that has recently seen a spate of big-budget flops, desperately needs Brahmastra to do well. 

About Brahmastra: Part One-Shiva

Brahmastra is a part of the three-part film franchise known as the Astraverse and will feature Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy and Akkineni Nagarjuna in significant roles. The first film of the trilogy has been helmed by Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani director Ayan Mukerji and bankrolled by Karan Johar-led Dharma Productions. It is all set to release on the silver screen on September 9 in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.

Also read: Troubled Bollywood needs 'Brahmastra' to work