Sundeep Kishan claims his restaurant had ‘huge billing’ following the raid:
Sudeep Kishan’s restaurant Vivaha Bhojanambu, was raided by food safety officials earlier this month. The actor denied breaking any laws.
The Telangana Food Safety Department this year raided Sudeep Kishan’s restaurant, Vivah Bhojanambu, alleging six violations. The actor, who is promoting his Tamil film Ryan in Hyderabad, defended his restaurant over these allegations. (Also read: Sudeep Kishan’s restaurant ignores 6 food safety rules; expired food, contaminated water found)
The raid occurred on July 8, 2024, and it was discovered that there were several violations of food safety and storage.
Sudeep protects his pasture:
,Defending his restaurant, Sudeep said he did not start Vivah Bhojanambu for profit but would provide free meals to those who went to the nearby Chiranjeevi Blood Bank if necessary.
He said, “From each of the seven outlets of Vivaha Bhojanambu, we donate nearly 50 food packets daily. That makes 350 free food packets every day and even if it costs us ₹50 per packet, that would be more than ₹4 lakh monthly donation. When donating ₹4 lakhs worth of food free, why would we save an expired rice packet that costs a few bucks?”
Sudeep did admit that ‘minor issues’ had been noticed in the restaurant but said it had nothing to do with ‘cooking and security’.
“I’m just charitably saying we don’t cut corners,” he said. Regardless of the amount of donation, cleanliness is important. And the Food Safety Administration made no mention of such issues. There was no running water in the kitchen; It was a sewer.”
The actress also said her restaurants saw ‘higher bills the day after the campaign’. “You see, the people who eat there trust our quality, so it hasn’t affected us. We also had huge bills the day after the attack,” he said.
Food Safety Department’s claim:
Telugu actor Sudeep Kishan, who is currently seen in Dhanush Ryan released on July 26, opened up about the controversy surrounding his Hyderabad-based restaurant and said the inspection was a routine inspection.
Listing the violation, the Food Safety Commissioner of Telangana wrote earlier this month, “Chittimutyalu Rice (25kg) with Best Before Date of 2022 and 500gms of Coconut Grate with Synthetic Food Colors Stock is discontinued. Raw foods stored in metal containers & semi-prepared foods are covered but not properly labelled.”
When we are donating ₹4 lakhs worth of food free, why would we indulge in saving a rice packet that costs a few bucks?” he questioned.
They added, “A few garbage cans were not covered. There were no medical fitness certificates for food handlers. The water was found standing in the kitchen drain. There were no water analysis reports on the use of water bubbles as an ingredient in food preparation and supply to consumers.”
But a charity doesn’t have the side to run a restaurant without maintenance, right? “Yes, there has to be cleanliness no matter how much we contribute.
And the Food Safety Authority has not mentioned any hygiene issue,” he added. He continued: “A day after the campaign, we recorded a higher than usual spend and that explains why the restaurant’s image hasn’t faded, and people trust the quality offered at Sandeep Kishan’s restaurant. ”
Upcoming work:
After Captain Miller, Sudeep and Dhanush reunited for the directorial Ryan which will release this Friday. The film also stars Kalidas Jayaram and SJ Surya. She will also star in the Telugu film Vibe directed by Swaroop RSJ, and an untitled film starring Trinadharao Nakkina.
Sudeep Kishan’s last film was Ooru Peru Bhairavakona, which released in January 2024. The film, which also starred Varsha Bollamma, was directed by V Anand.