What’s happening in Mumbai’s hotels? A peek into the party circuit and events in the city… By Marcellus Baptista
Art of the matter
The Imperial Hall of Palladium Hotel was transformed into an art gallery as Tushar and Vickram Sethi, Gayatri and Atul Ruia and Amit and Shweta Bhosale hosted an exclusive private viewing of Asta Guru’s online auction of exclusive masterpieces by some of the greatest artists of all time. Dolly Thakore, Ajay De, Malati Jain, Naina Kanodia and Shanti Chopra were among the many guests who enjoyed the cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The auction, guests learnt, comprise 88 lots of exclusive works of art by Indian contemporary artists, and many masters including artworks by Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ravi Varma, M F Husain, S H Raza, F N Souza, Ram Kumar and Anjolie Ela Menon.
Movie magic
Visit Britain, the national tourism agency for Britain, announced Saif Ali Khan as spokesperson for the ‘Bollywood Britain’ tourism campaign in India. At Olive you heard that romance is the latest evolution of the campaign and that with over 50 movies filmed in Britain, mostly themed around romance, the destination provides the perfect setting for couples to celebrate love and romance while on a holiday. Aimed at honeymooners and couples seeking a romantic getaway, the campaign you were told highlights various movie locations featuring some of the most popular Bollywood blockbusters starring the biggest names in Bollywood including Saif Ali Khan who was definitely in love with Britain as he recalled his fond memories of the land.
Bubbling over
Olive Bar & Kitchen was the happy venue for the Zonin Prosecco party. Alessandro Guerini of Zonin and Jackie Matai of Aspri Spirits were there to say hello to the guests who thoroughly enjoyed the Zonin Prosecco Special Cuvee Brut with a fruity and aromatic aroma, hints of Wisteria flowers and Rennet apples, very well-balanced and appealing with extremely delicate almond notes, said to be ideal for starters, salads, pastas and pizzas. Guests could also enjoy the special Prosecco cocktails like Spiritz (Zonin Prosecco and Aperol), Rossitini (Zonin Prosecco and strawberry puree), Mandarin Mimosa (Zonin Prosecco, fresh mandarin juice and orange liqueur) and Elderflower Fizz (Zonin Prosecco, gin and elderflower syrup). It was a well and truly bubbly night indeed.
Strokes and folks
Different strokes and different folks was what it was at the art brunch at The Westin Mumbai Garden City. It was an art brunch with a difference in the sense that besides the many artworks on display there was a BMW car that was painted right in front of the guests. The artist in question was Sangeeta Babani who magically transformed one side of the car into an artistic entity. The art brunch in association with Jyotiee Balani and BMW saw a display of a blend of realism and abstractionism in the many paintings all around. To complement this artistic Sunday afternoon was an array of the hotel’s art-inspired food plus fine wines from Charosa Vineyards. Seen relishing this experience were the likes of actors Dheeraj Dhooper and Vinny Arora and designer duo Riddhi and Siddhi Mapxencar among many others.