Shilpa ShettyThe premium restaurant chain, Bastian, has long been one of the most talked about dining brands in Mumbai. The business gained widespread attention last year after the author Shobhaa De: claims that one of his outlets in Mumbai earns between Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore in a single night. While Shilpa later rejected the figures, her husband and businessman Raj Kundra: have now opened up about the company’s progress, revealing that despite its success, none of them took money from the business for personal use.During a conversation with Jai Madaan, Raj talked about the role Vastu plays in their business decisions, explaining that every Bastian property goes through a thorough assessment before launch. “We have. We have a certain Vastu expert. We have a priest named Jaspreet, who checks each and every property before we open it.” Madaan then recalled visiting Bastian’s Dadar outlet when it had just opened and shared that he immediately felt that the brand would be a huge success.“When I first went to Bastian in Dadar, I looked at the way Bastian’s ‘B’ started, and I told my daughter that it would become a big brand. I also told them that eventually they would sell their stake after giving it a huge amount. I knew they would not stay with it forever.” Raj admitted that he was surprised by his prediction. “That’s amazing. Scary.” Madaan went on to reveal another forecast he made about the business model, saying that the couple will continue to reinvest their earnings instead of taking income for themselves.“I also said that they make a lot of money but they don’t save. They keep taking money from one place and invest it in another place. They don’t take a penny home. None of them take a salary or take dividends. Everyone goes back to business.” Responding to his remarks, Raj confirmed that the business is largely following that path.“Wow, not bad. The progress is huge. Seriously, without investing a single penny after the first outlet, it became so successful that we continue to open to each other. Today, there are about nine Bastians across the country. Everything starts at the beginning.” Madaan also predicts that Bastian will eventually establish a presence in Tier-2 cities as the brand continues to expand.The restaurant chain once dominated the headlines after Shobhaa De revealed what she described as shocking profits in an appearance on Mojo Story. “The kind of money in Mumbai is amazing. A restaurant has a turnover of Rs 2-3 crore per night. On a slow night, it is Rs 2 crore, and on the weekend it is Rs 3 crore. I entered that restaurant myself because when I first heard these numbers, I thought they were not true.“He later identified the restaurant as Bastian. “This is Bastian. The new Bastian. It’s spread over 21,000 square feet. It’s not even real. You walk and wonder where you are. There’s a 360-degree view of the city. People arrive in Lamborghinis and Aston Martins. Your name.”Shilpa Shetty, however, dismissed the viral claims when she appeared on Curly Tales, saying that the reported numbers are far from the truth. “I hope that’s true. I’m sure one day it will be true, so keep our fingers crossed.” Shilpa entered the hospitality business in 2019.