Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; February 11, 2015)

A Pune nightspot opened last year by Priyanka Chopra’s brother, Siddharth, had been embroiled in a bitter dispute with a partner restaurant over space and licence. This had forced both the businesses to close down temporarily last November.

Now, it has emerged that Siddharth’s The Mugshot Lounge has lifted shutters and its partnership with one Sheetal Samat withdrawn. The deal was that Samat’s company would run out of the same space and in return, pay a certain sum to the Chopras every month. However, it reportedly defaulted on payment of Rs 15 lakh between June and October 2014.

Further, Samat’s restaurant — Sheetal Samudra — was allegedly running with the same licence granted to The Mugshot Lounge. When excise officials got wind of it, they initiated action. This led to mutual mud slinging, slapping legal notices on one another, and downing shutters eventually.

Siddharth says, “My lounge has re-opened. I am taking care of it; Sheetal is not a part of it. I am not sure if they have made the payment. We followed everything that was in the agreement, but they didn't. So, we decided to move forward.”

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; February 7, 2015)


With sister PC camping in Los Angeles for her Rs 25 crore deal with ABC Network, it was Parineeti who immediately came to her brother’s rescue. “Priyanka is in LA for three months now. She will finalise the show with ABC network and will be busy shooting for it. Hence, she could not make it although she’s sent her love and best wishes. She has always been there for her brother and this time, she is feeling really bad that she could not be there” confirmed PC’s spokesperson. But Pari will zoom off to Pune today to make sure that everything goes well with Sid’s launch. “Parineeti has been very busy with her brand shoots, but she agreed to be a part of her brother’s ‘happy moment’ and decided to take an entire day off from her shoots and endorsements,” her spokesperson added.

“Parineeti and I are very close, we grew up together as we are of the same age and participated in singing sessions. It feels great that Parineeti has taken time out from her busy schedule to support my venture. It’s nice have family support, especially from my sisters,” said Siddharth, who also added that despite everything, Piggy Chops ‘will be missed’. “Priyanka has been a very important part of my life and has supported me in everything I have done. I really do miss her on this day but hope she will come down again,” he said.

Upala KBR (DNA; September 7, 2014)


Talking about it, Siddharth says, “I am doing it in partnership with Yug Tuli who was also at Les Roches with me. It is called The Mugshot Lounge as the idea is to have a lounge where there will be beer mugs and shots. One of the USPs is setting challenges where one has to consume a number of beers and shots within a time limit and the winner’s photo will be posted on the Mugshot Wall of Fame.”

While being a trained chef, Siddharth will focus more on the business side than whipping up culinary treats for his patrons. The young entrepreneur adds that his sister has been a major source of support and inspiration, “She’s been very involved in the entire set-up and has been giving me a lot of ideas. Not only is she very inspiring, but she has also been a motivational factor in my venture right from the start. My family has been very supportive about it. This is the first project we will be starting with. Once this is established, we do have other ventures along the same lines in the offing too.”

When quizzed about why is he opening a venture in Pune and not Mumbai, Siddharth says, “Pune is an upmarket city with a lot of high-profile people and is good for a start-up.”