Kamal Ghorui
Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli are called a power couple for a reason and together, they enjoy a huge fan following. While Anushka has been away from the movies ever since she embraced motherhood, fans are waiting for a chance to spot them together. Anushka has a strong connect with Bengaluru living a large part of her life there and so does Deepika Padukone. Recently, Ganesh Poojari, director of Bengaluru’s iconic eatery Central Tiffin Room, opened up about memorable visits by the two stars along with their husbands, Ranveer Singh and Virat Kohli.Ganesh recalled the chaos that followed Virat and Anushka’s visit to the restaurant in 2023. He shared that he initially dismissed the calls informing him about their arrival, assuming they were fake. He said in an interview with Pinkvilla Biz, “I thought that it was ‘fake’,” he said, adding that despite repeated calls from their “local reference who manages VIP movement,” he believed it was merely “hype.”He further revealed that even after multiple updates, he remained unconvinced until the couple actually arrived. “I got a final call saying they are actually here at the corner, and have come in two cars. I still thought it is not real and after that, two cars came outside the entrance,” he recalled. The restaurant then cleared an entire floor to make the couple and their families comfortable.Ganesh described Anushka as “very good to talk to” and shared that when asked how she knew about the restaurant, the actor fondly remembered visiting it during her college days. “She couldn’t recollect the last time. She said it was a while ago and now, ‘I have come with my family and husband. We don’t have time, but we have come. We have been craving for so long so we actually had to make time and we just came here’,” he said.Although he was aware of Virat’s popularity, Ganesh admitted he had underestimated the frenzy their visit would create. “I don’t watch cricket because of my busy schedule. I thought yes, this might bring an impact to us but not to an extent that happened,” he said.Recalling the crowd outside the restaurant as the couple prepared to leave, he added, “At that moment, outside the restaurant, the entire road was blocked, no vehicles could pass and there were people madly waiting for the couple to exit. When we opened the doors, they couldn’t even get inside the car.”Following the incident, the restaurant even received a call from the local police station asking them to notify authorities in advance whenever high-profile celebrities visited. “After that, we got a call from the police station saying the next time someone like this comes, we are supposed to inform them, else a complaint would be lodged. It’s something we need to follow and we didn’t know it then. But it was quite fun hosting them and it was really good,” he shared.Ganesh also remembered hosting Deepika and Ranveer at the restaurant, revealing that while they were aware of Deepika’s visit, Ranveer’s arrival came as a surprise. He mentioned that the actor personally thanked the chef after the meal.Sharing a humorous anecdote from their visit, Ganesh said one of the staff members was left stunned after an interaction with Ranveer. “One of my staff members, he was very surprised to see the couple. What Ranveer did is… He is very energetic so he picked him up, hugged him and just dropped him so he froze at that moment. That was quite funny,” he recalled.
