​The party’s gone global

International clubs for the uber wealthy are setting up shop in India. A night of exclusive revelry can cost anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 4 lakh

Bottles of bubbly cool in ice buckets. Women in thigh-skimming dresses swap pleasantries as they tap their toes to the latest chart toppers. Suddenly, the music picks up and the foreign hostesses start gyrating to the beats. Soon, everyone's grooving too, some on the sofas, which are specially made for dancing. The party has begun. Welcome to India's first club for the super elite, Pangaea.

The Singapore-based club is one among a handful of international clubbing brands hoping to give India's after-hours scene a global flavour. Buddha Bar, the popular Paris lounge, finally called on Delhi last year as B-bar (in deference to India being the birthplace of Buddhism). Hugh Hefner's brainchild Playboy Club is expected to open soon in Mumbai and the bunny ears will be spotted in Delhi sometime early next year.

With 122 billionaires in India, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2013, the prospect of attracting clients who don't think twice about plonking a few lakhs on a night's entertainment is a major attraction. Most of them are looking at an average spend of Rs 5,000-10,000 per reveller per night.

American entrepreneur Michael Ault launched Pangaea in Singapore in 2011 and the safari-themed club soon became the favourite haunt of the city's millionaires as well as international celebrities like Kobe Bryant, Madonna and Kate Moss.

He is confident of the same success here. "My biggest and most loyal customers are mostly wealthy Indians from Delhi or Mumbai. And they begged me to do something in India. Pangaea is special, like beluga caviar. It's not for everyone," says Ault.

B-bar, with its circular bar, oriental screens and gold chandeliers, has been buzzing with patrons since its launch. "Across the globe, Indians are one of the highest spenders in top-end restaurants and nightclubs. Indians are also a major clientele for Buddha Bar worldwide and they were keen for a the club to come to India," says Kunal Lalani, one of the directors of the Indian venture.

One of the factors feeding this super club boom is the popularity of dance music. Most of the world's top DJs and agencies have realised India's potential, and every week there is one big name in a metro. Pangaea announced its arrival on the scene with American producer and DJ Kaskade, who played at the club on Friday night.

The first one to test Indian waters way back in 2007 was the London-based mecca of music, Ministry of Sound. The club that spawned a label and compilations popular with ravers all over the world set up shop in Delhi's Vasant Kunj. Its Louvre-inspired design and emphasis on international acts gave India's swingers their first taste of the international party scene. With entry priced at Rs 2,500 for a couple, it was the place where one could see all of India's best and some of the world's popular DJs spin. The club shut down after complaints from neighbouring RWAs about the noise levels.

Gaurav Bakaya, who's now the F&B director at Playboy India, was at the helm of operations at MoS Delhi. "It was India's first superclub," he says. (Anything spread over more than 15,000 sq feet can be described as a superclub.) "The average spend per customer is among the highest in Delhi and that makes it very attractive for clubs."

Though there is no lack of wealthy patrons, it is a bad idea for club entrepreneurs to depend entirely on them. So even though tables at Ault's establishment cost upwards of Rs 75,000 — the VIP table for 10 costs Rs 4,00,000 — you can walk into his club for Rs 1,500 per head. After all, it's the 15-25 year-old spenders who keep such establishments afloat. "It's not just for the uber wealthy, it's for uber fun," says Ault.

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