Brahmastra’s trailer was recently released, and it gave us a glance of Ranbir Kapoor’s Astraverse. While the trailer sparked lots of new theories, one audience member noted that Ranbir can be seen wearing shoes as he enters what appears to be a temple.

It didn’t take long for the film to receive backlash as a result of it. The director of Brahmastra, Ayan Mukerji, took to Instagram to clarify that the scene in question is a pandal, not a temple.

The director of the film Ayan Mukerji wrote, “We had some people in our community, upset because of one shot in our Trailer – Ranbir’s character wearing shoes as he rings a Bell.”

He continued saying, “As the Creator of this film (and a devotee), I wanted to humbly address what happened here. In our movie, Ranbir is not entering a temple, but a Durga Puja Pandal.”

He further wrote, “My own family has been organising a similar kind of Durga Puja Celebration for… 75 years! One, which have been a part of since my childhood. In my experience, we only take off our shoes, right on the stage where the Goddess is, and not when you enter the Pandal.”

“It is personally important for me to reach out to anyone who may have been upset with this image… because above all, Brahmastra is created as a movie experience which pays respect to, and celebrates – Indian culture, traditions and history. That is at the heart of why made this movie, so it is very important to me that this feeling, reaches every Indian who is watching Brahmastra!” added Ayan Mukerji.

Ranbir Kapoor as well as Alia Bhatt stars in the lead roles in Brahmastra. This is their first collaborative project film.

Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and Mouni Roy also play pivotal roles in the film. Shah Rukh Khan makes a cameo appearance in Brahmastra, which will be his first big project since Zero.