4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 7, 2026 01:59 PM IST
Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma have had very different career trajectories in the Hindi film industry but there is still something that binds the actors, and that is their connection to their city – Bengaluru. Deepika grew up in the city, and Anushka also spent a large part of her life there. In a new interview, the director of Bengaluru’s famous eatery, Central Tiffin Room, Ganesh Poojari, recalled when Deepika Padukone visited the restaurant with husband, actor Ranveer Singh, and the mayhem that followed after Anushka Sharma’s visit with husband, cricketer Virat Kohli.
Anushka Sharma remembered her college days
In a chat with Pinkvilla Biz, Ganesh recalled that he got a call about Virat and Anushka’s visit three days prior but he did not take it seriously and thought that it was “fake.” Leading up to their visit, he got multiple calls from their “local reference who manages VIP movement,” but assumed that it was just “hype.” Hours before their visit, he got another call, which was followed by a final call just minutes before their arrival. “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 shared and added that they cleared an entire floor for them. “We made them comfortable. They were with families,” he said.
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Ganesh further shared that Anushka was “very good to talk to” and when he asked how she learnt about the restaurant, she recalled that she had visited the place 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 shared.
Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma couldn’t get to their car
While the world knows about Virat’s popularity, especially in Bengaluru, Ganesh did not anticipate the impact it would have on his business. “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 recalled the mayhem outside the restaurant when Virat and Anushka were leaving and shared, “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.”
After this visit, the restaurant got a call from the police station to inform them if any such noted celebrity was visiting. “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. Anushka and Virat visited CTR in 2023.
Ramveer Singh hugged a staff member, he froze
Ganesh also recalled Ranveer and Deepika’s visit and shared that they had just learnt about Deepika’s visit and were not expecting Ranveer to drop by. He shared that Ranveer thanked the chef after they were done. Recalling the “funny incident”, he shared that while exiting, he hugged a staff member, who completely froze. “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 shared.
