Beer, bhelpuri & Bollywood

It is that week of heightened activity leading up to the launch of the Times Food Guide and the awards for the top restaurants. So, I settled for a bit of a chillout this week, rather than a serious dining experience.
I went to Indi, which is the new avatar of Sultans of Swing at Garuda Mall. It’s not a very large space, but comfy seating and smart, state-of-the-art lighting gives it the air of a with-it nightspot. A Bollywood theme rules here, and if you like it filmi, you’ll quite enjoy yourself.
The cocktails have names like Amar Akbar Anthony, which is an LIT by another title. The Cosmopolitan is referred to as Rock On here. I started with a drink from the list of signature cocktails. It was called Jab We Met - the dark rum, sugarcane juice and Indian spice mix coming together as nicely as the pairing of Shahid Kapur and Kareena did in that entirely watchable film. Chalte Chalte was a paan-flavoured vodka concoction which I didn’t particularly care for. And, no, there’s no MNIK which most people would consider a relief, I guess.
It’s a well-stocked bar, though the serious whisky drinker may not find enough options. The house wine is Indian, priced at Rs 180 for the glass. Price of a POB, the beer drinker’s gauge to judge value for money, is Rs 150.
There’s an interesting line-up of things to nibble on, and the vodka paani puri wins hands down. So you can get high on your food and your drink at the same time. The jhinga bhel puri with crispy shrimp in it was a tasty innovation, too. The murgh kheema goli and the gosht galuti kebab - which was more like a dry mutton cutlet - didn’t quite make the cut. Ditto for the murgh kheema pao. If it’s kheema pao, it’s got to be lamb mince, Bombay-style.
I went early in the week, so the place wasn’t exactly packed to the edges, but it was buzzy with quite a few large groups of very young people. It’s Bollywood music all the way, with the DJ pumping up the volume as the night wears on. Don’t go here expecting to have conversations or even on a romantic date, though I did spot the odd canoodling couple - at that stage when it suffices to stare into each other’s eyes, perhaps.
What Indi is good for is a night out with a group of friends for kicking back and listening to some Bollywood beats. Evening out for two will cost about Rs 1600.