Brahmastra director Ayan Mukerji on Wednesday said he went to the Mahakal temple in Ujjain alone and chose not to take his lead actor Alia Bhatt because she is pregnant.

Both Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor were very keen to visit the temple, Mukerji said a day after reports that the star couple had been prevented from entering the premises of the Shiva temple in the Madhya Pradesh town following protests by Bajrang Dal activists.

“Honestly, till the end they were very keen, but when we reached there and heard about this, I felt a little bit that I will go alone,” Mukerji said in response to a question at a press conference that was organised to promote his film that releases on Friday.

“... I had gone to seek blessings and energy for my film. The blessing is for everybody. I didn't want to take Alia because of her present condition. Honestly when I went, I felt that they could have also gone for their ‘darshans’. That is on me,” he said.

On Tuesday, Bajrang Dal activists reportedly did not allow the star couple to enter the temple premises for their alleged remarks on eating beef. Police used batons to disperse the crowd.

Brahmastra is the couple's first film together.

Industry insiders are betting big on the lavishly mounted Brahmastra, which has been in the making for close to a decade, especially at a time other mainstream Bollywood films have tanked at the box office.

There is no negative environment, Bhatt told reporters.

Asked if she feels the current climate is right for the movie to be released in theatres, Bhatt retorted, “Which climate? Summer, autumn, winter... There's no such thing. It’s a beautiful environment to release a film...Everything is positive and good. We are so happy the theatres are back and functioning... We are very grateful that we get to do a job and put a film out there for the audiences to watch.”

Mukerji, known for critically acclaimed movies Wake Up Sid and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, agreed that the team's aim is to spread “warmth and positivity”.

His film, Mukherji said, is a celebration of Indian culture.

“Overall about everything else, my feeling is that with Brahmastra, we have this line -- the light is coming. And by light, we mean everything is positive and spiritual in this life. And with this whole marketing effort and this film, our effort is to spread warmth and positivity because that is what we all want and that is what the word means,” he explained.

Brahmastra Part One: Shiva, which also features Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy, is a joint production of Star Studios, Dharma Productions, Prime Focus and Starlight Pictures.