When the star of Hindi romantic comedy "Naya Padosin" was performing last weekend at Galaxy, the all-night disco at Kathmandu's five-star Everest hotel, instead of the usual applause, the programme ended in a brawl.
Among those present were Nepal's Crown Prince Paras, the head of one of Nepal's leading business groups and the son of a prominent politician, according to various media accounts.
The heir to the throne of Nepal was said to have had a quarrel with the son of Padma Sundar Lawoti, a former minister belonging to the Rastriya Prajatantra Party that is part of the present coalition government and considered pro-monarchy.
The altercation erupted into a fisticuff. When Siddhartha Rana, head of the Soaltee Group which owns the oldest five-star hotel, a tea garden and several other ventures, tried to intervene, he was allegedly beaten up by the irate crown prince.
According to witnesses, who refused to be identified, the brawl generated from what was originally a string of bashes thrown to celebrate the 29th birthday of Paras' wife, Crown Princess Himani.
