While Aaliya sent a legal notice to Nawazuddin seeking divorce, rumours about her alleged affair with a friend surfaced yesterday
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 21, 2020)

A day after Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s wife Aaliya Siddiqui (original name Anjana Kishor Pandey) opened up to Bombay Times on why she decided to send the actor a legal notice seeking divorce and maintenance, reports in the media surfaced, hinting at an alleged relationship between her and their friend, Peeyush Pandey. A picture was published in certain media reports of the two, speculating ‘what’s brewing’. The said photo was told to be Aaliya’s WhatsApp display picture a few days ago.

We reached out to Peeyush, a media professional. Sounding shocked, he clarified, “I got to know about their divorce notice through the media. I am the scapegoat here. These link-up rumours are completely baseless and ridiculous! Why am I being dragged into this? I have nothing to do with this. People around them know about their feud and what is going on between them (their estranged relationship). I want to stay away from it. Why is my name and reputation being tarnished? I am in a relationship with someone, and this sort of rumour is extremely distasteful. This puts me in a spot with my family and friends. Luckily, my better half is aware of the truth as she is also friends with Aaliya. I will consult my lawyer as to what needs to be done to safeguard my interests.”

BT has learnt that the picture used by some media outlets of Aaliya and Peeyush was a cropped photo. The original photo, which we have seen, features three people — Aaliya, Peeyush and his girlfriend. (We were requested to withhold the photo from being published to safeguard the third person’s privacy).

A source close to Aaliya added, “Aaliya had that picture as her display photo a few days ago on WhatsApp. That picture has three people and not two as is being portrayed. She put it out there, because there’s nothing to hide. She is friends with Peeyush and his girlfriend and all three feature in that picture. There’s nothing more to it. To insinuate that she is having an affair, is playing dirty. People can part ways in a dignified manner without resorting to this kind of mudslinging. This wasn’t required.”

Speaking about the picture, Peeyush said, “That picture was taken at a party and there were over 20 people there. We all click pictures. It’s a normal thing to do. If there are three people in the picture and you crop it and use just two people, you can claim whatever you want to.”

Incidentally, Peeyush has worked with Nawaz in the past, and he revealed, “I met Aaliya through Nawaz. I have no professional engagement with him today, but I have worked closely with Nawaz for almost three years in the past. I used to handle him as a talent manager. I respect Nawaz as an artiste till date. He is a great actor and has struggled a lot. Success stories like him are rare to find. But, the current situation is discomforting, and I don’t want to be associated with this.”