Scene & Heard

Marcellus Baptista

What's happening in Mumbai’s hotels? A peek into the party circuit and events in the city...

Black blend

Mahima Chaudhary and Arjun Khanna at the Smirnoff Black show at Hilton Towers

Couture Pour Homme was what Arjun Khanna called his collection inspired by Smirnoff Black. There was a sea of black at the Regal Room of Hilton Towers. Russian fashion ruled with an all-male line with choreographer Marc Robinson as the showstopper. Besides the many male models, there were also glam girls Tapur and Tupur Chatterji, Fleur Xavier, Diandra Soares and Waluscha Robinson on the catwalk.

Cossack dancers started it all, followed by the fashion show with some unconventional twists given to timeless silhouettes. The party continued with music by international DJ John Fleming. Guests sipped and savoured the new vodka, enjoying it on the rocks or in cocktails like Russian Passion, Siberian Frost, Czarina and Bolshoi Martini. Non-vodka drinkers were not left out, they could enjoy their Black Label. Experiencing the black expressions were Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Minnisha Lamba, Mahima Chaudhury, Queenie and Raja Dhody, Anju Taraporewala, Nisha Jhaveri, Komal and Rajiv Vazir, Ashwin and Tina Deo and Asif Adil, MD of Diageo India.

White magic

Pranav Chaturvedi, Rij Eappen, Puneet Sehgal and Mickey Manek at White

Let there be White. That's what they told you at the launch of White, the newest lounge in town. The dress code was white and most adhered to that. Looking happy were the men in white, White partners Rij Eappen, Pranav Chaturvedi, Puneet Sehgal and Mickey Manek. According to the four, a change of scene was imperative, from the warm, pastel coloured ambience and homely feel of most lounges in the city.

The staff was in white uniform, the DJ was in a white console with a mix of house and lounge music that came through white speakers. Belvedere, Glenmorangie range of single malts and other spirits, wines and beer were flowing at the white bar and Mediterranean snacks were doing the rounds. Guests included Ness Wadia, models Anchal Kumar, Tinu Verghis, Mugdha Godse, Mridula Chandrashekhar, Kavita Kharayat, Viveka Babaji, Nina Manuel, Shamita and Mashoom Singha and designer Gayatri Khanna.

Mocha again

Rashmi Nigam and Geeta Basra at the new Mocha launch

The cheer was on at Mocha that opened its sixth outlet in the city at Lokhandwala. The rambling terrace area looked like a Mediterranean setting with walls, cupolas and hammocks in white interspersed with shades of blue, lime, purple, lavender and green. Hosts Riyaaz Amlani and Nitin Gupta of Sykx fame welcomed guests to savour the global gourmet coffees, Sula wines, fruit-flavoured sheeshas, and bites like paninis, wraps and tapas. Not to forget the desserts like tiramisu, Philadelphia cheese cake, brownie crust with hot chocolate sauce, chocolate shakes with Lindt, Toblerone, Kit Kat, Snicker and Oreo. The glam and entertainment world was in full force on opening evening with the presence of Kim Sharma, Ashmit Patel, Ash Chandler, Manasi Joshi was with Rohit Roy, Arzoo Govitrikar, Kanchi Kaul, Vikas Bhalla, Rajit Kapoor, Reema Sen, Rashmi Nigam, Geeta Basra, Sudhanshu Pandey, Shonali Nagrani, Siddharth Kannan, Rahul Dev, Anjala Zaveri, Shawar Ali, Meghna Naidu and Reva Bubber.

High tee

Jayshree and Kapil Grover at the Grover Vineyards golf dinner at Willingdon Sports Club

The prize-winning dinner of the Grover Vineyards Inter-Club Golf Championship at the Willingdon Sports Club is always a much-awaited event on the social calendar. So it was this year too hosted by Kanwal Grover, chairman of Grover Vineyards and Vijay Chauhan, chairman of Parle Products. It was the eleventh such championship and the sprawling lawn was filled with family, friends and avid golfers.

Grover wines and even Teacher's were served at the two bars and taking you on a further high was music by Sharmilla and her band. Shakuntala Chauhan and daughter Amita, Kapil and Jayshree Grover with daughter Neha, Parizad Kolah and husband Navroze Marshall, Nirmal Bhogilal, Nirmal and Meera Zaveri, Akshay and Payal Kilachand, Monica Vaziralli, Astad Deboo and Ravi Ghai were all there, thoroughly enjoying the evening.