Hyd Playboy Club just swankier nightclub

Hyderabad/Panaji: For the entire backlash that the promoters of Playboy (PB) Lifestyle received over their alleged move to set up shop in Goa, one is almost surprised when one enters the Playboy Club in Hyderabad, the first-of-its-kind in India. There are no long, gambling tables, no scantily-clad women to greet you, and certainly no ‘bunnies’ hopping around.In fact, it’s just a swankier version of your usual nightclub, with varied DJs for different days of the week, visual artists, a bar, and a dance floor that can house around 200 people at a given time. “All we had done in Goa was settled on a location and discussed possible design ideas. We never applied to the government for a license. But we still got so much flak for it that I had to drop the idea,” says Parag Sanghvi, managing director at PB Lifestyle. If the dance floor at the club is packed to capacity with dancing revellers, the first floor is exclusive only for Playboy members. By paying an annual membership of Rs2.5lakh a year, members can redeem it by dining in the seating area complete with black and silver suede upholstery, or head to the private dining area, that can host 12 persons at a time. The members also have access to any Playboy club the world over. Currently, the club doesn’t have any women on the service side, but Sanghvi intends to change that. “There will be hostesses and they will be like women who work anywhere else, like the airline (industry), for instance.” Stating that the Playboy Club in Hyderabad is “well within the cultural boundaries of India”, Sanghvi says, for the third time, “I have nothing to do with Playboy magazine. PB Lifestyle does not have a licence for the magazine.” So why did he choose to be associated with the brand? “It’s a luxury brand. It carries weightage. India’s clubs lack in standards, and I hope to bring that with this brand,” says Sanghvi, who’s all set to open around 6-8 clubs in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore, over the next five years. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing and he’s still reeling from the “damage that Goa did”. “I still don’t understand what went wrong there,” says Sanghvi, who’s not about to give up on his Goa dream just yet. “I want to start an all-day café in Goa, which competes with major coffee chains in ambience, and serves alcohol as well. With the choice of music and atmosphere I hope to give one a surreal experience,” says Sanghvi, who vows to abide by the rules and timing regulations the area dictates. Stating that Goa plays host to a lot of European tourists, Sanghvi hopes the PB Lifestyle café will also draw American tourists to his “favourite party destination”. (The correspondent visited the Playboy Club in Hyderabad on an invitation from PB Lifestyle)