Mumbai: After Nawazuddin Siddiqui's wife Aaliya Siddiqui opened up to a leading portal on why she decided to mail a legal notice seeking divorce to the actor, reports in the media surfaced, hinting at an alleged relationship between her and their common friend Peeyush Pandey. Noticing the assumptions, Peeyush has flatly rubbished all such talk.
A picture was published in certain media reports of the two, speculating "what’s brewing". The picture was said to be Aaliya's former WhatsApp display picture.
Talking about the photo, Peeyush told a leading portal, "That picture was taken at a party and there were over 20 people here. 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 two people, you can claim whatever you want to."
"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 (estranged relationship). I want to stay away from it," Peeyush said while talking about the actor's divorce.
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"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," he added.
A source close to Aaliya said, "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."
On May 18, the news broke that Aaliya had filed for divorce. Aaliya’s lawyer had told a channel that the notice had been sent to Nawazuddin via email and WhatsApp on May 7.
